5 access 2000 users and 1 AccessXP user

[Anna S]

Hi

I have an Access 2000 database that is used by multiple users. The DB is
split with the backend on a server.

I have 1 user who wants to use the DB but they have Office XP (Access 2002)
installed.

I feared that the 2000 users may have trouble using the backend if a 2002
user accessed it ( I recall having these issues with 97 and 2000).

I tested this theory on a copy of the backend and 2002 seems to be able to
use the 2000 backend and preserve 2000's ability to access it thereafter.

My problem is that I can get the mdb version of my Access 2000 front end to
work on the 2002 PC but the mde version created in 2000 will not work.

There is a message about a function or VBA code that Access can't find .
This is then followed by a message to the effect that the mde is corrupted.

I was not able to create an mde on the 2002 PC without upgrading the
database to 2002 format. I assume this would mean the back end too - i don't
want this.

the application uses Word and Excel libraries too. The list of References
for the 2000 version is shown below

ListReferences
VBA: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\VBA\VBA6\VBE6.DLL
Access: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\MSACC9.OLB
Word: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\MSWORD9.OLB
MSACAL: C:\WINNT\system32\MSCAL.OCX
stdole: C:\WINNT\System32\stdole2.tlb
DAO: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\DAO\dao360.dll
VBIDE: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft
Shared\VBA\VBA6\VBE6EXT.OLB
Office: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\MSO9.DLL
vsFlexLib: C:\WINNT\System32\VSFLEX3.OCX

Does anyone know what I can do to create an mde version for the 2002 pc that
won't make the backend unusable for the 2000 users?

Any advice gratefully accepted.

Anna

 

[Brendan Reynolds]

Your assumption that upgrading the front end would also require you to
upgrade the back end is mistaken. Just upgrade a copy of the front-end for
that user, there is no need to do anything with the back end.

 

[Anna S]

Thanks Brendan

That simple? Thanks. This is not the case with 97 - 2000 is it? Or are
all versoins backward compatible?

Anna

 

[david epsom dot com dot au]

XP and 2000 use the same database engine and the
same file format. Make sure that ALL users are
using the latest Jet version (ie, that all users
have downloaded the latest security patches from MS)

200x-97-95-2.5 used different database engines.
200x-9x-2.x used different file formats.

2000 - 2.5 has problems, and 97-95 had problems.

So although each version except 97-95 was designed
to be interoperable, in Year 2000 when we were all having
problems with database corruption MS was very careful
to recommend that we use only a 2000 database with
Access 2000.

However, it turned out that the corruption was a
problem in Windows 2000, not a compatibility problem
between A97 and A2000 at all.

(david)

 

[Brendan Reynolds]

The same does apply to 2000 and 97 - a 2000 front end can link tables in a
97 back end. I'm told that there is some performance penalty, but I have
never found it noticeable myself.

I couldn't swear that *all* versions are backward compatible - see David's
post elsewhere in this thread - but I can tell you that an Access 2003
front-end can link tables in an Access 2 back-end.

 

[david epsom dot com dot au]

but I can tell you that an Access 2003 front-end can link tables in an

Access 2 back-end.

However, there have been problems trying to SHARE an
Access 2 backend between Access 2 (Jet 2.5) and Access
2003 (Jet 4.0). Access 2003 deleted the ldb file on
closing, even though Access 2 was still using it. I
only tested this once, so I don't know if it depends
on the release version of Access and Jet.

The same does apply to 2000 and 97 - a 2000 front end can link tables in a
97 back end. I'm told that there is some performance penalty, but I have

You need to apply the SubDataSheets fix to the 97 back end
if you have defined relationships. The 97 back end does not
show the SubDataSheet property in the table definition, so
you need to do this in code.

(david)

 

[Anna S]

Thank you so much for the great summary. You guys are amazing!!!

This has already saved me heaps of time and you've given me some clues about
the first things to investigate if my users have problems.

Cheers
Anna

 

[Brendhan]

Anna:

I have a question that perhaps you or someone else in the group can answer.
I, too, have a split database with the backend on a server. I recently
started upgrading my win2K clients to XP and the server is still running
win2K Server. I tried to open the database using Access 2000 on one of the
clients that I upgraded to XP and I get a message indicating that the
database is read only (which isn't true) and, although I can see the data,
the program won't let me change anything.

Also, I have some brand-new XP clients that came with Access 2003
pre-loaded. These can't even open the database - even as read only. The
problem obviously has something to do with a Windows 2000 server and a win XP
client with respect to Access 2000.

Can anyone help?

 

[Allen Browne]

Suggestions:

1. Using Windows Explorer, locate the front end mdb file on the workstation.
Right-click and choose Properties. Make sure the Read-Only check box is
unchecked. If you see an Unblock button, click that. (Typically where the
file was received by email.)

2. Go to Tools | Options on each of the Access workstations, and set:
Advanced | Default Open Mode to "Shared".
General | Name AutoCorrect boxes to unchecked.

3. Make sure Sandbox mode is disabled:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/239482/en-us

4. Check the permissions of the folder where the workstations are connected
to. They need read, write, and delete permissions. (I have one client whose
"server" has multiple hierarchial shares on the drive, and if they choose
the wrong one (a top-level read-only) instead of the lower-level
write-enabled share, they get this problem.)

5. Make sure the users are logged in as local-computer administrators (not
limited users.)

6. Make sure all users have Service Pack 8 for JET 4. Locate the file
msjet40.dll. Right-click and choose Properties. On the Version tab, you
should see 40.8xxx.0. The xxx digits don't matter, but if you don't see the
8, download from:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/239114

7. If the problem still persists, the "read-only" message can occur because
*one* of the workstations has opened the data exclusively.

 

[Brendhan]

Allen:

Thanks. I will try these and get back to you...

 

[Brendhan]

Allen:

Making the user an administrator on the local machine worked for the case
where I upgraded a win2K box to winXP and kept Office 2000 untouched (the
Access database in question is in Access 2000). Thank you very much.

However, for the case where I brought in a new, out of the box, PC with Win
XP and Office 2003 pre-loaded, I cannot get the front end to open once I copy
it to th PC (it is an mde file). I get all kinds of errors (not read-only
errors like the win2K box). The back end is on a server running win2K server.

Can you help regarding this remaining problem by giving me any other
suggestions? I am very happy to have the problem solved on the win2K box so
we can at least use our application.

 

[Allen Browne]

"All kinds of errors" is not specific enough to debug.

Office security messages? Linked-table errors? Library errors? Network
issues?

 

[Brendhan]

Allen:

I will run the program again and will record the chain of errors and will
get back to you. Thanks.

 

[Guest]

"All kinds of errors" usually indicates a "references" problem.
It is very difficult to debug and fix a "references" problem
when you only have an MDE. Do you have a copy of the
MDB?

(david)

 

[Brendhan]

David and Allen:

Yes, I do have both the MDB (on a file server running Win2K server) and the
MDE (runs on my clients). I have fixed the problem for an XP Client that is
still running Office 2000. The remaining problem is for an XP Client running
Office 2003.

I should also mention that, before the XP Client running Office 2000 was
fixed, the MDE icon showed a yellow-colored lock on the top right corner.
After the fix, the lock turned blue and the thing worked great. On the XP
client running Office 2003, the lock is still yellow despite trying the fix
that worked on the other machine.

Here is what happens when I try to invoke the application:
Access 2003 opens and immediately says "There is no object in this control".
After hitting OK, I get what is the user login screen for my specific
application and I type my normal username and password to get in. Once I hit
OK after typing the username and password, the program will go no further (I
never get in). Instead, I get "The expression On Load you entered as the
event property setting produced the following error: Object or class does
not support the set of events".

This is where I am right now.

Would it help if I zipped up both the mdb and the mde and shipped to you via
e-mail?

BZ
Access opens

 

[Allen Browne]

I think David is on the right track with his guess. Sounds like you have a
reference to a library that is not present on the WinXP machines, not
registered, or not the expected version.

Remove any references you don't need from your mdb.
If you are not sure which references you need, see:
http://allenbrowne.com/ser-38.html
Open the mdb on one of the XP clients, and see if the references are okay,
or if some of them are marked "MISSING".

Once you have that sorted out, create another mde (assuming you removed some
references), and it should work.

If the WinXP users are logged in limited users (not local computer
administrators), that could also cause the problem.

 

[Brendhan]

Thanks Allen. I will review these issues and get back to you.

 

[Brendhan]

Allen:

Thanks for the help in the past. We have worked out our issues. I
appreciate your assistance.