Suppress the 'Do you want to convert the database' message

[Jimmy Lee]

Hi,

We are getting ready to migrate to Office XP (with and without Access)
from Office 97.

When you open a 97 mdb in Access 2002, a Do You Want To Convert the
Database message pops up. You can convert the database or open it as
read-only. With our upcoming deployment, there are concerns that users
may inadvertently convert a shared database and thereby make it
unrecognized for other 97 users (ie those who have not gotten Office
XP yet).

There is a registry fix (KB 290291) that allows suppressing the above
message and opens the database read-only by default.

There have been a couple of posts on the newsgroups reporting some
problems (locking of the database, mdb getting converted anyway) using
this method.

Has anyone used this method to suppress the message? any problems?

I tried the registry entry and it did suppress the message. But, when
I tried to 'reset' the registry key the normal Do Not Convert message
did not return; this may not be a problem in that we may not want or
need to revert back to the message.

I would like to hear peoples' experience using this method in a
deployment\production scenario. I don't want any gotchas.

Also, how likely (percentage) is there to be problems in converting
Access 97 mdbs to Access 2002?

TIA,

Jimmy Lee

 

[Roger Carlson]

First of all, "converting" an Access database does not really convert it.
The conversion process really creates a new database in the new version and
then copies all of the objects from the old to the new. (it also sets some
references and such). So there really isn't a problem with inadvertently
converting a database. During the conversion process you have to give it a
new name and you CANNOT save it to the original name.

If the file is stored on the network, all you really have to do is open each
97 database once in XP and choose the "Read Only" option. Thereafter, it
won't ask to convert the database. You have to open the file differently in
order for it to even ask.

Lastly, assuming you don't have replicated database or secured databases,
the conversion from native 97 to XP should be relatively painless. There my
also be problems if the app was converted at some time from Access 2.0 to
97. If it was, there are some additional steps you should take.

Check out this article:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q319400

Pay particular attention DAO 2.5/3.5-Compatibility Library issues.