Can't open any database

Mark Lineberry · Mar 13, 2005

I'm a relatively new user to Access, but have been building a database for 6
months now. I went to to open the same database I've been opening for some
time and after I clear the security pop-up, and before I can reach the
database window, I now get a Microsoft Office Access error message telling
me:
"Microsoft Office Access has encountered a problem and needs to close.
We are sorry for the inconvenience....The information you were working on
might be lost. Microsoft Office Access can try to compact and repair your
open database....".
I attempted on several times to do as it suggests by "Repair[ing] my open
database and restart[ing] Microsoft Office Access". But this doesn't do
anything. What can you suggest?

I am running Access 2003 in addition to Office XP on Windows XP on a new HP,
which is not Networked.
I tried to uninstall Access 2003 and reinstall it. I get the same messages.
I thought Norton Internet Security was doing something, but I disabled it
for a time and still get the same messages.
I backuped the file right before all this happened and it runs OK on a
different computer.
No databases will open. They all get the same error message. The Northwind
sample database won't even open.
The only feature that seems to work is creating a new database. I haven't
done this to see if that would open or not.
I haven't received any error messages prior to this happening and the
database and Access had been working normally.

Any help would be appreciated.
Mark

Allen Browne · Mar 13, 2005

Mark, this is good trouble-shooting. You have demonstrated that the problem
is with the Office installation, because the database opens on another PC
and no databases open on this PC.

Uninstalling and reinstalling Office 2003 were the next obvious step. The
fact that this failed suggests that something else is interferring with your
Office 2003. NIS was a good guess. What else was added recently? Any Access
addins such as MZTools? Any other dev software such as Visual Studio .NET?
Anything else - possibly spyware? Do you have a System Restore point that
could take you back to the last date it was working okay? Should be under:
Start | Programs | Accessories | System Tools | System Restore

If you have not applied SP1 for Office 2003, that just might fix whatever is
wrong. Available from the Office Update site, or you can navigate there
from:
http://support.microsoft.com/

This reply feels inadequate, but hopefully will trigger a useful idea for
you.

Tom Wickerath · Mar 13, 2005

In addition to Allen's answer, you might try the resolutions shown in these
two KB articles. Seems like a long shot, but maybe you'll get lucky....

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=833877

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=819780

Tom
________________________________________

Allen Browne · Mar 13, 2005

Thanks for those Tom.

Mark, here's another one that does not look the same, but may have a bearing
as you say you have Office XP on your computer as well:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=823227

--
Allen Browne - Microsoft MVP. Perth, Western Australia.

Reply to group, rather than allenbrowne at mvps dot org.

Tom Wickerath said:
In addition to Allen's answer, you might try the resolutions shown in
these
two KB articles. Seems like a long shot, but maybe you'll get lucky....

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=833877

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=819780

Tom
________________________________________

Mark Lineberry said:

I'm a relatively new user to Access, but have been building a database
for 6
months now. I went to to open the same database I've been opening for
some
time and after I clear the security pop-up, and before I can reach the
database window, I now get a Microsoft Office Access error message
telling
me:
"Microsoft Office Access has encountered a problem and needs to
close.
We are sorry for the inconvenience....The information you were working on
might be lost. Microsoft Office Access can try to compact and repair your
open database....".
I attempted on several times to do as it suggests by "Repair[ing] my open
database and restart[ing] Microsoft Office Access". But this doesn't do
anything. What can you suggest?

I am running Access 2003 in addition to Office XP on Windows XP on a new
HP,
which is not Networked.
I tried to uninstall Access 2003 and reinstall it. I get the same
messages.
I thought Norton Internet Security was doing something, but I disabled it
for a time and still get the same messages.
I backuped the file right before all this happened and it runs OK on a
different computer.
No databases will open. They all get the same error message. The
Northwind
sample database won't even open.
The only feature that seems to work is creating a new database. I haven't
done this to see if that would open or not.
I haven't received any error messages prior to this happening and the
database and Access had been working normally.

Any help would be appreciated.
Mark

Click to expand...

Mark Lineberry · Mar 14, 2005

Allen -
Tom -

Thanks for the input. I appreciate it. Unfortunately, the problem of the
database shutting down before it opens still persists.

Allen: Nothing new was added to the computer since Christmas, before all of
this, other than the regular updates to Office, Windows, NIS, etc. I haven't
installed any add-ins, and VBA is a long-stretch, so development software is
out of the question. Spyware is unlikely since I don't download programs and
I run Norton Internet Security, Ad-aware, and Spybot S&D weekly to avoid this
anyway.

I tried Windows System Restore, but an error message states "no changes have
been made to your computer". I had gone back 2 months, before any of this
happened. I also installed SP1 and 2 critical updates available for Access.
They ran fine but no luck. I also tried Windows update just in case.

There is one thing I noticed: Office update won't scan my computer. I
thought Microsoft was having problems, but my other computer works fine. This
is something I recently noticed. I updated fine last month. NIS was disabled
during this time with the same result. I had also set the security via IE to
low.

I also tried #823227, but it did not work. I always do a complete or full
install on all programs and the VBA features had been included.

Tom: Thanks too for your input. #833877 involves grouped controls on forms
and reports. I used grouped controls on one form. However, I cannot access
any database to try this. As mentioned, Northwind sample database won't even
open.

#819780 involves printing & VBA and read-only databases. The project in
question does not have any self-programmed code and printing was a good 3
weeks out, assuming that this code was under consideration. The database is
not read-only.

Again, Thanks! If you can think of anything else, let me know. I have been
reading these posts and am trying to be thorough. Again, being a new user,
from what I have read, is it possible to piece the forms, tables, reports,
etc.. into a brand new database? I was very close to finishing. Reports were
the last thing to be completed. The data was all there. Let me know if
anything else that could possibly fix this database and have it open once
again.

-Mark

Allen Browne said:
Thanks for those Tom.

Mark, here's another one that does not look the same, but may have a bearing
as you say you have Office XP on your computer as well:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=823227

--
Allen Browne - Microsoft MVP. Perth, Western Australia.

Reply to group, rather than allenbrowne at mvps dot org.

Tom Wickerath said:

In addition to Allen's answer, you might try the resolutions shown in
these
two KB articles. Seems like a long shot, but maybe you'll get lucky....

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=833877

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=819780

Tom
________________________________________

Mark Lineberry said:

I'm a relatively new user to Access, but have been building a database
for 6
months now. I went to to open the same database I've been opening for
some
time and after I clear the security pop-up, and before I can reach the
database window, I now get a Microsoft Office Access error message
telling
me:
"Microsoft Office Access has encountered a problem and needs to
close.
We are sorry for the inconvenience....The information you were working on
might be lost. Microsoft Office Access can try to compact and repair your
open database....".
I attempted on several times to do as it suggests by "Repair[ing] my open
database and restart[ing] Microsoft Office Access". But this doesn't do
anything. What can you suggest?

I am running Access 2003 in addition to Office XP on Windows XP on a new
HP,
which is not Networked.
I tried to uninstall Access 2003 and reinstall it. I get the same
messages.
I thought Norton Internet Security was doing something, but I disabled it
for a time and still get the same messages.
I backuped the file right before all this happened and it runs OK on a
different computer.
No databases will open. They all get the same error message. The
Northwind
sample database won't even open.
The only feature that seems to work is creating a new database. I haven't
done this to see if that would open or not.
I haven't received any error messages prior to this happening and the
database and Access had been working normally.

Any help would be appreciated.
Mark

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Allen Browne · Mar 14, 2005

Okay, sounds like you are being thorough, and I'm not sure I have a solution
for you. One thing you might like to try is holding down Shift while you
open the database, so that any startup code does not run.

Couple of things bother me. Firstly, I am not aware of an SP2 update for
Access 2003. Is it possible you installed something that was not a genuine
SP? Secondly, low security for IE could well have opened the door for some
malware that is not yet being recognised by the security software you are
running. I think you want to get IE security up high again very quickly.

You say you can create a new (blank) database okay, so you may be able to
import everything from the failed database. Make sure you disable Name
AutoCorrect in the new database first, under:
Tools | Options | General
Explanation of why:
http://allenbrowne.com/bug-03.html
Then import just the tables if you can:
File | Get External | Import
You may find that this only results in a message that the database is
corrupt, but if you can get the data in, try closing the database, make a
backup, and restart Access. If that works, you can proceed to import the
other objects (queries, forms, reports, ...)

HTH

--
Allen Browne - Microsoft MVP. Perth, Western Australia.

Reply to group, rather than allenbrowne at mvps dot org.

Mark Lineberry said:
Allen -
Tom -

Thanks for the input. I appreciate it. Unfortunately, the problem of the
database shutting down before it opens still persists.

Allen: Nothing new was added to the computer since Christmas, before all
of
this, other than the regular updates to Office, Windows, NIS, etc. I
haven't
installed any add-ins, and VBA is a long-stretch, so development software
is
out of the question. Spyware is unlikely since I don't download programs
and
I run Norton Internet Security, Ad-aware, and Spybot S&D weekly to avoid
this
anyway.

I tried Windows System Restore, but an error message states "no changes
have
been made to your computer". I had gone back 2 months, before any of this
happened. I also installed SP1 and 2 critical updates available for
Access.
They ran fine but no luck. I also tried Windows update just in case.

There is one thing I noticed: Office update won't scan my computer. I
thought Microsoft was having problems, but my other computer works fine.
This
is something I recently noticed. I updated fine last month. NIS was
disabled
during this time with the same result. I had also set the security via IE
to
low.

I also tried #823227, but it did not work. I always do a complete or full
install on all programs and the VBA features had been included.

Tom: Thanks too for your input. #833877 involves grouped controls on forms
and reports. I used grouped controls on one form. However, I cannot access
any database to try this. As mentioned, Northwind sample database won't
even
open.

#819780 involves printing & VBA and read-only databases. The project in
question does not have any self-programmed code and printing was a good 3
weeks out, assuming that this code was under consideration. The database
is
not read-only.

Again, Thanks! If you can think of anything else, let me know. I have been
reading these posts and am trying to be thorough. Again, being a new user,
from what I have read, is it possible to piece the forms, tables, reports,
etc.. into a brand new database? I was very close to finishing. Reports
were
the last thing to be completed. The data was all there. Let me know if
anything else that could possibly fix this database and have it open once
again.

-Mark

Allen Browne said:

Thanks for those Tom.

Mark, here's another one that does not look the same, but may have a
bearing
as you say you have Office XP on your computer as well:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=823227

--
Allen Browne - Microsoft MVP. Perth, Western Australia.

Reply to group, rather than allenbrowne at mvps dot org.

Tom Wickerath said:

In addition to Allen's answer, you might try the resolutions shown in
these
two KB articles. Seems like a long shot, but maybe you'll get lucky....

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=833877

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=819780

Tom
________________________________________

:

I'm a relatively new user to Access, but have been building a database
for 6
months now. I went to to open the same database I've been opening for
some
time and after I clear the security pop-up, and before I can reach the
database window, I now get a Microsoft Office Access error message
telling
me:
"Microsoft Office Access has encountered a problem and needs to
close.
We are sorry for the inconvenience....The information you were working
on
might be lost. Microsoft Office Access can try to compact and repair
your
open database....".
I attempted on several times to do as it suggests by "Repair[ing] my
open
database and restart[ing] Microsoft Office Access". But this doesn't
do
anything. What can you suggest?

I am running Access 2003 in addition to Office XP on Windows XP on a
new
HP,
which is not Networked.
I tried to uninstall Access 2003 and reinstall it. I get the same
messages.
I thought Norton Internet Security was doing something, but I disabled
it
for a time and still get the same messages.
I backuped the file right before all this happened and it runs OK on a
different computer.
No databases will open. They all get the same error message. The
Northwind
sample database won't even open.
The only feature that seems to work is creating a new database. I
haven't
done this to see if that would open or not.
I haven't received any error messages prior to this happening and the
database and Access had been working normally.

Any help would be appreciated.
Mark

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Tom Wickerath · Mar 14, 2005

Hi Mark,

Sorry to hear that you are having all these problems. I can only guess that
at some point in recent history, a critical file or registry entry on your
system has become corrupted. This file is apparently not being over written
when you attempted to uninstall and re-install Access.

Have you tried running chkdsk /f recently? Try running this from the command
prompt. You will likely receive a message that indicates that you'll need to
restart your system in order to run this test.

Here are a few more KB articles that I just found, which involve Symantec
products:

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=329820
This plug-in may cause performance issues, the inability to open files
within Office, or the inability to install some Office programs.

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=316773
Describes a problem with Office XP with Norton Systemworks. Not sure if the
same thing can affect Access 2003.
____________________

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=825444
This article shows how to troubleshoot fatal system errors in Access 2003
when running on Win. 2000. I realize that you are using WinXP, but there
might be something useful for you in this article.

I am running Access 2003 in addition to Office XP on Windows XP on
a new HP, which is not Networked.

Do you have Access 2002 available on this PC? If so, can it open any of
your existing databases? Also, have you tried opening your databases with
the shift key pressed down, just in case there is some problem with running
any startup code? Have you tried booting into Safe mode and then see if you
can start Access?

Hate to say it, but sometimes the fastest solution is to simply take the
shotgun approach. Back up all of your critical data files, then FDISK,
re-format and re-load everything.

Good Luck. Please let us know if you find a solution short of the shotgun
approach.

Tom
__________________________________________

:

Allen -
Tom -

Thanks for the input. I appreciate it. Unfortunately, the problem of the
database shutting down before it opens still persists.

Allen: Nothing new was added to the computer since Christmas, before all of
this, other than the regular updates to Office, Windows, NIS, etc. I haven't
installed any add-ins, and VBA is a long-stretch, so development software is
out of the question. Spyware is unlikely since I don't download programs and
I run Norton Internet Security, Ad-aware, and Spybot S&D weekly to avoid this
anyway.

I tried Windows System Restore, but an error message states "no changes have
been made to your computer". I had gone back 2 months, before any of this
happened. I also installed SP1 and 2 critical updates available for Access.
They ran fine but no luck. I also tried Windows update just in case.

There is one thing I noticed: Office update won't scan my computer. I
thought Microsoft was having problems, but my other computer works fine. This
is something I recently noticed. I updated fine last month. NIS was disabled
during this time with the same result. I had also set the security via IE to
low.

I also tried #823227, but it did not work. I always do a complete or full
install on all programs and the VBA features had been included.

Tom: Thanks too for your input. #833877 involves grouped controls on forms
and reports. I used grouped controls on one form. However, I cannot access
any database to try this. As mentioned, Northwind sample database won't even
open.

#819780 involves printing & VBA and read-only databases. The project in
question does not have any self-programmed code and printing was a good 3
weeks out, assuming that this code was under consideration. The database is
not read-only.

Again, Thanks! If you can think of anything else, let me know. I have been
reading these posts and am trying to be thorough. Again, being a new user,
from what I have read, is it possible to piece the forms, tables, reports,
etc.. into a brand new database? I was very close to finishing. Reports were
the last thing to be completed. The data was all there. Let me know if
anything else that could possibly fix this database and have it open once
again.

-Mark

Mark Lineberry · Mar 21, 2005

Tom & Allen:

Thanks for both your suggestions. I started on the second round of advice
last week starting with Tom's, when I entertained the idea of not only
removing Access, but also removing Office XP. Big mistake. Not only did
Access continue not to work, with additional problems, but Outlook failed
too. I was frustrated so I shelved these until I could clear my mind. So,
today, I fixed Outlook and found the *.pst file needed. I still need to
rebuild by contacts, but that's for the Outlook group.

As per Access, the problem had to do with a .dll file that had to be
registered. I don't remember the file name recall this being suggested before
by someone. Their suggestion had me to type a command in the Run command box
to register that file. I had but there was no change. As I started to problem
solve, I received a call from Microsoft asking for a follow-up and she
steered me towards this solution. Everything works now, except Outlook.
Thanks!

Mark