need to open Access file

[luv2bike2]

I need to open an Access file and I am not sure if it was created in Access
97 or not. I am thinking it was created in Access 97 because of the message
that I am receiving. I have Access 2003 and when I try to open it I get the
following error message.

The current user account doesn't have permission to convert or enable this
database.
To convert or enable a database, ensure the following:
You must join the workgroup that defines the user accounts used to access
the database.
Your user account must have Open/Run and Open Exclusive permissions for the
database.
Your user account must have Modify Design or Administrator permissions for
all tables in the database, or it must be the owner of all tables in the
database.
Your user account must have Read Design permission for all objects in the
database.
Request the other users close the database.

in the Help section of this error message box says:

This error is usually associated with opening or converting a security
enhanced Access 97 or earlier databass. If you are not the owner of the DB,
you most likely will not have the nescessary access rights to open or convert
it.
If you need to convert the database you can:

Attempt to change the permissions on the system tables to include Admin
rights (if you are a member of the Admin group)
Have the owner convert the DB
Import all the objects from the database into a new database
Note: the security settings currently present in the existing db will not be
present in the new db.

My question is:
if it was created in Access 97 and I do not have Access 97 on any of my
workstations, how can I convert it to Access 2003? I am a complete Novice
when it comes to Access, I have not work with it before so what ever help I
can get would be greatly appreciated!
We just need to look at the data in the DB we do not need or want to make
any changes to it.
Thanks,

 

[Larry Linson]

The problem is not that you do not have Access 97 -- you can't use Access 97
to convert an Access 97 database to Access 2003. Access 2003 wasn't even a
gleam in the developers' imagination when Access 97 was published -- someone
would have to have been clairvoyant to divine what Access 2003 file format
was going to be, six years down the road.

You have a problem with security; the Access 97 database is secured using
Access' workgroup security. You very likely need a copy of the workgroup
security file, .MDW, that was used to secure it, AND appropriate permissions
for your userid to either be the owner or to modify the design.

You need to find the author of that database, and make arrangements to
obtain the necessary access and permissions to do what you want.

It is possible to break security -- no security is perfect (and Access'
security isn't even close to perfect), but you'd have to find someone else
to pursue that discussion.

Larry Linson
Microsoft Access MVP

 

[Dave F]

If you just need to look at the data in the db, then just query it with
another instance of Access.

The problem is not that you do not have Access 97 -- you can't use Access 97
to convert an Access 97 database to Access 2003. Access 2003 wasn't even a
gleam in the developers' imagination when Access 97 was published -- someone
would have to have been clairvoyant to divine what Access 2003 file format
was going to be, six years down the road.

You have a problem with security; the Access 97 database is secured using
Access' workgroup security. You very likely need a copy of the workgroup
security file, .MDW, that was used to secure it, AND appropriate permissions
for your userid to either be the owner or to modify the design.

You need to find the author of that database, and make arrangements to
obtain the necessary access and permissions to do what you want.

It is possible to break security -- no security is perfect (and Access'
security isn't even close to perfect), but you'd have to find someone else
to pursue that discussion.

Larry Linson
Microsoft Access MVP

 

[luv2bike2]

than I gues I really have a problem since the user who created the DB is no
longer with the company and i can not find the .MDW file.

Even if I have a workstation that has Access 97 on it , I probably would not
be able to open it because of the security on the file, correct?
--
Thank you,

The problem is not that you do not have Access 97 -- you can't use Access 97
to convert an Access 97 database to Access 2003. Access 2003 wasn't even a
gleam in the developers' imagination when Access 97 was published -- someone
would have to have been clairvoyant to divine what Access 2003 file format
was going to be, six years down the road.

You have a problem with security; the Access 97 database is secured using
Access' workgroup security. You very likely need a copy of the workgroup
security file, .MDW, that was used to secure it, AND appropriate permissions
for your userid to either be the owner or to modify the design.

You need to find the author of that database, and make arrangements to
obtain the necessary access and permissions to do what you want.

It is possible to break security -- no security is perfect (and Access'
security isn't even close to perfect), but you'd have to find someone else
to pursue that discussion.

Larry Linson
Microsoft Access MVP

 

[Dave F]

Have yuo tried importing the tables into a new db?

than I gues I really have a problem since the user who created the DB is no
longer with the company and i can not find the .MDW file.

Even if I have a workstation that has Access 97 on it , I probably would not
be able to open it because of the security on the file, correct?

 

[luv2bike2]

No, I have not tried that, since I am not sure how to do that and I have no
clue what is in the DB or how it is set up, so I don't what tables to import.
Basically, I know nothing about this DB that my user wants to access.

 

[Dave F]

Here's how you import tables into a new db:

1) Figure out the filepath of the db from which you want to import tables
and make a note of it.
2) Create a new Access db.
3) In the new db, click on the Tables selection on the left hand side of the
screen.
4) In the white space to the right of the list of objects, right-click and
select Import.
5) Navigate to the first db's location.
6) You should see a list of all of the tables in the first db. Import them
into the new db.

I'm pretty sure you can do this even if you don't have rights to the old db.

 

[Larry Linson]

than I gues I really have a problem since
the user who created the DB is no
longer with the company and i can not
find the .MDW file.

Even if I have a workstation that has
Access 97 on it , I probably would not
be able to open it because of the
security on the file, correct?

Possibly. But it would be worth a try! Security is a complex subject, and
it is entirely possible that some step was missed. If so, it is also
possible that you can get into the DB as "Admin," the default user -- if the
situation isn't complicated by version issues, etc..

Is anyone using that DB? If so, look for a Workgroup file of the same name
as the database file on their computer or server. If the developer did not
leave the company with bad feelings, and you can contact him/her, it is
possible that he/she might be able to help you. Or, perhaps you can find
who was that person's manager at the time the DB was developed -- it is very
common for the manager of a developer to also have a backup copy of the
appropriate userid/password for secured DBs.

There is a freely downloadable utility called "MS Access' 95/97/2000
databases password tool 2.2" at Serge Gavrilov's site,
http://accesstools.narod.ru. I think you may have to have a copy of Access
97 to be able to take advantage of it, but for Access 97 only, it reads as
though you can get enough information from just the MDB to be able to
recreate the MDW. I caution that I have not used this but have used some of
Serge's other utilities with good results. I also caution that, even if it
allows you to break security, if you do not have proper authorization to
access the DB, you are still subject to copyright laws that apply in your
jurisdiction and, in the US, some of those are rather harsh.

Larry Linson
Microsoft Access MVP

 

[Charlie Hoffpauir]

I need to open an Access file and I am not sure if it was created in Access
97 or not. I am thinking it was created in Access 97 because of the message
that I am receiving. I have Access 2003 and when I try to open it I get the
following error message.

The current user account doesn't have permission to convert or enable this
database.
To convert or enable a database, ensure the following:
You must join the workgroup that defines the user accounts used to access
the database.
Your user account must have Open/Run and Open Exclusive permissions for the
database.
Your user account must have Modify Design or Administrator permissions for
all tables in the database, or it must be the owner of all tables in the
database.
Your user account must have Read Design permission for all objects in the
database.
Request the other users close the database.

in the Help section of this error message box says:

This error is usually associated with opening or converting a security
enhanced Access 97 or earlier databass. If you are not the owner of the DB,
you most likely will not have the nescessary access rights to open or convert
it.
If you need to convert the database you can:

Attempt to change the permissions on the system tables to include Admin
rights (if you are a member of the Admin group)
Have the owner convert the DB
Import all the objects from the database into a new database
Note: the security settings currently present in the existing db will not be
present in the new db.

My question is:
if it was created in Access 97 and I do not have Access 97 on any of my
workstations, how can I convert it to Access 2003? I am a complete Novice
when it comes to Access, I have not work with it before so what ever help I
can get would be greatly appreciated!
We just need to look at the data in the DB we do not need or want to make
any changes to it.
Thanks,

If you haven't managed to open the database yet, I can give it a try.
I'm retired now, but a few years ago when I was an engineering
contractor (engineer for hire) I was several times asked to get into
Access databases that were "secured" by some former contract engineer
who had since left. It isn't all that hard to do. Contact me at
charliehoffp at yahoo dot com if you want me to give it a try.

Charlie Hoffpauir
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~charlieh/

 

[luv2bike2]

,thank you Dave,

I was able to import the tables and it came up.

next question and I think i know the answer but before i do try it, i wanted
to ask first. I can import other objects as well--like reports, forms, and
queries?

 

[luv2bike2]

I was able to import the tables and forms into a new DB. I think I am all
set, I am just waiting for the user to check out what i have to see if that
is what she is looking for. thank you for your assistance and suggestions.

 

[Dave F]

Right.

That method of circumventing Access security should demonstrate that it's
not a secure application!

 

[Joan Wild]

Try it and see. The fact that you were able to import the tables, suggest
that it wasn't secured properly in the first place.

Backup what you've got so far, and then try the import. If it works, great;
if it doesn't or does something to your mdb, you've got a backup.