Cannot open database ". It may not be a database that your application recognizes

[erykglodek]

Sure this is a very common problem people have.
I'm using Access 2003 with front-end forms, 5 people log into the database most of the time and access the same table from the front-end forms. Now and again a record becomes corrupt and just shows "#error" or "#Delete" in all the fields and it can't be deleted. I first thought this could of been just a network error but it's happening to often. I then changed the layout of the table as it had a "memo" field which I have now taken out and put in it's own table and this table now doesnt' corrupt.

So I can only think it's down to the multi-users hammering the same table at the same time. Is there anything I can do to stop this, if it's to change the design of how everything works or anything else I can do to the database.

[NeoPa]

Some good ideas to use if you don't already :

1. Ensure the database is split between Front End (FE) & Back End (BE).
   FE - Programming.
   BE - Database design and data.
2. As much as possible, try to make sure users are local to both the FE & the BE.
   Network problems are the single most common reason for database corruptions.
   Local HDD is best - through rarely practicable.
   LAN is generally fine except where network hardware is poor.
   WAN or internet very regularly causes such issues.
   
   NB. RSCing into a remote system to run Access there is fine, even across the internet. The important thing is how far away the Access application is from the file rather than the user per se.

[Stewart Ross]

As NeoPa said, network problems almost certainly. Access is not a client/server system, and if you have a look with a packet analyser such as Wireshark at network traffic to and from your PC when running Access you will see just how much data is transferred back and forth for even the most basic of tasks. If network access is interrupted for whatever reason DB corruption can result.

A few years ago I experienced such problems on an internal LAN running on VMware. A SAN cache controller failure led to intermittent occurrences of the SAN disconnecting momentarily (for less than a ms). The disconnection of the SAN from the network occurred when the cache controller was under load, which of course was when users were most active on the network in general. Result: corrupted A2003 DBs each time (and loads of users with Excel files open etc left with problems too!).

I was lucky most of the time, compact and repair could resolve the corrupt instances, but there were times the back-end DBs had to be restored from the previous day's network backup.

Anyway, network problems that directly affect traffic to and from the DB concerned are indeed the most likely cause of such issues.

-Stewart

[jacobylott]

To repair a corrupt .mdb database of MS Access, one can try Compact and Repair feature of MS Access. It repairs corrupt database and makes it accessible for database users. Other than this one can also use import feature of MS Access that helps database users import their corrupt database to a new database file.

[harperross]

The Microsoft provided Detect and Repair tool can be accessed from different locations in MS Access XP, MS Access 2003, and MS Access 2007. In MS Access XP and MS Access 2003 the tool can be accessed by selecting Help > Detect and Repair option. While in MS Office 2007, you need to execute the following steps to access and use the tool:
1. Start MS Access 2007.
2. Click the MS Access button and click the PowerPoint options button.
3. Select the Resource Tab.
4. Click the Diagnose button.
After you have launched the tool using the MS Access application follow the onscreen instructions to use the tool.