Repair Open DB

[ronnomad]

We (about 30 of us) use a DB to create shipping documents. I believe the
file was created in 97 and some of us still use 97 although we all have 2003
on our computers. The DB sits on a common drive. The DB was created by
someone who no longer works here. It has failed (on occasion) but someone
has always been able to fix it. Now it has failed again (we can enter data
but cannot see details on the final form - which is the part we need the
most).

I have attemted to repair (using 2003) but keep running into a problem where
the system tells me that I have attempted to open a file in exclusive use and
that the exclusive user is me on my machine. What am I doing wrong? I have
not opened the file. I have seen other posts advising to copy the DB to
another (new) file. I was not ready to attempt that before exhausting all
other avenues

Thanks, Ron

 

[KARL DEWEY]

Try this --
Make a backup copy. Have everyone out of the database. Check and see if
there is a file of the same name with an extention of .ldb and if so then try
deleting it. If you can not then have your server manager delete it.

Once it is deleted you should be able to run the compact and repair when you
are the only one in the database.

 

[John Vinson]

We (about 30 of us) use a DB to create shipping documents. I believe the
file was created in 97 and some of us still use 97 although we all have 2003
on our computers. The DB sits on a common drive. The DB was created by
someone who no longer works here. It has failed (on occasion) but someone
has always been able to fix it. Now it has failed again (we can enter data
but cannot see details on the final form - which is the part we need the
most).

I have attemted to repair (using 2003) but keep running into a problem where
the system tells me that I have attempted to open a file in exclusive use and
that the exclusive user is me on my machine. What am I doing wrong? I have
not opened the file. I have seen other posts advising to copy the DB to
another (new) file. I was not ready to attempt that before exhausting all
other avenues

Thanks, Ron

Be sure nobody is logged on and open the folder containing the
database; if there is a file with the same name as the database and a
..LDB extension, delete it. This is the "lock" file Access creates to
keep track of who has what records open; it's normally deleted when
the last user closes the database, but if somebody crashed out or hit
ctrl-alt-delete and cancelled out of Access, it will be left.

You should WITHOUT DELAY split your database!!! 30 users sharing a
single database is a recipe for trouble, and it's a testament to how
good a version Access97 was that you haven't had more trouble! See

http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/splitapp/

for instructions and detailed discussion.

John W. Vinson[MVP]

 

[ronnomad]

Karl/John,

Tried the suggestion that you (and John Vinson) suggested this morning. The
..ldb file (which was there yesterday) was not present and the repair function
processed but with no resolution to the problem. As for John's suggestion to
split the DB, that will not work. Most of us are adding new records to the
file but there are two individuals that must have access to all the records
to complete the data by adding shipping method, tracking numbers, etc. And,
although there is a 'search' function within the DB that is delimited by a
persons 'authorization initials' there are times when I (for instance) need
access to another's data.

That being said, the problem continues. Perhaps with more info you (or
someone else) can suggest another avenue to pursue.

Essentially, the problem is with the final form. The data that is entered
resides in various tables with some common headers. The final form is a
shipping document which indicates (amongst other things) where the shipment
is going and what is being shipped. The detail of the commodities can be
many line items. And it is this detail that is missing (in the final form
and when doing a look-up) even though I can see this detail is I look at the
commoditiy table. When the form prints, the area where the commodity data is
supposed to appear is missing (including the column titles or headers). If I
try to view the file prior to printing, the area where this detail is
supposed to appear is 'greyed' out. You can see the headers and what the
layout is supposed to be, but none of the individual line items.

Although my experience with Access is limited, I did look at the the
'relationships' and they seem to be intact and correct (and I can't imagine
anyone having altered them in any way).

If you, or anyone else has a suggestion, but feel that it might be
constuctive to 'walk' me through the solution, I would be more than happy to
call (or accept a call). We are located in Central Missouri outside of
Colmubia and about midway between St. Louis & Kansas City.

Thanks.

Ron

 

[ronnomad]

There is something else. When creating a new record, the layout used is also
the final form. On the form are a couple of buttons. One is a 'print
request' the other is 'DONE'. The 'DONE' warns that no further changes can
be made to the record. The 'print request' takes you to a view of what the
dicument will look like. I just noticed that, as soon as I hit the 'print
request' button, all the commodity detail disappears from the layout although
all other info remains. When I come back to the form to hit the 'DONE'
button, the commodity data is still missing. I am certain this did not
happen prior to the onset of this problem.

Ron

 

[KARL DEWEY]

I think what John was referring to by 'splitting' the database was to have
the tables and relationships in a 'backend' and everyone have a separate
'frontend' for their quires, forms, and reports.

 

[John Vinson]

As for John's suggestion to
split the DB, that will not work. Most of us are adding new records to the
file but there are two individuals that must have access to all the records
to complete the data by adding shipping method, tracking numbers, etc. And,
although there is a 'search' function within the DB that is delimited by a
persons 'authorization initials' there are times when I (for instance) need
access to another's data.

Please read the discussion of splitting at Tony's website.

As Karl says, that's not what I meant! A Split database has all of the
Tables (complete and unadulturated) in one shared database; each user
has a "frontend" database containing the Forms, Reports, Queries and
code, linked to the shared backend. If a user's frontend gets
corrupted, simply delete it and replace it with a clean fresh copy.
Since everyone is sharing the same *DATA* your concerns do not arise,
any more than they do with a single database.

More importantly, since users are not sharing programmatic objects
(just links to JET database tables), the risk of corruption - while
not zero - is *much* reduced.

John W. Vinson[MVP]

 

[ronnomad]

John, Karl,

I really want to thank you both for your advice. Although my attempts on
Saturday seemed to be fruitless, suddenly, about 20 minutes ago, everything
works. I really don't know what (if anything) I may have done to 'fix' the
situation. If someone else in our group got in there and did something, they
have not claimed credit. In any case, thanks.

This experience certainly has taught me not to take our processes for
granted. And, I will endeavor to learn more about Access. I have been, for
the most part, a spreadsheet person. I have used DBs in the past but, to
date myself, the last DB I used to any extent was Dbase II & III (in DOS).

Ron