Repair Access in proper way to avoid further damage
MS Access database is widely used for its convenience and ease. MS Access uses MDB and ACCDB files to store data in the database. The data stored in the form of tables and objects are based on the Access Jet Database Engine. Fair usage and maintenance keep Access is good form but still it has been found prone to corruption sometimes. Any corruption in the database or damage of the Jet database engine may result in loss of vital data. Data recovery becomes a crucial factor before grabbing backup files or creating a new database.
Microsoft has the ‘Compact and Repair’ tool to help you out of access data loss situations. The mdb repair process inculcated within this tool tries to repair only the tables, the queries, and the indexes in the database. It does not try to repair damaged forms, reports, macros, or modules. If compact and repair does not provide required help, then you may require recreating the tables, macros and modules. This is highly tedious and also your last saved formats may be lost. Even after all these, at times Access may not perform properly. There might be corruption in the Jet database. open mdb file with an Access recovery software to find an easy solution to any kind of access related hassles. Recovery tools restore all the data from damaged files and maintain the original attributes of your database.
However, before going for Access repair, you must make sure a few things.
1) Make sure that you have enough free storage space on your hard disk for both the original and the compacted versions of the Access database.This simply implies that you must have free space which is at least twice the size of your Access database on that drive.
2) You must have both Open/Run and Open Exclusive permissions for the Access database. If you own the database, make sure to set these permissions so that you can allow Access to make necessary changes.
3) Also assure that the Access database is not located on a read-only network share or has its file attribute set to Read-only.
4) Another important factor is that no user has the Access database open. This will deny the database from getting repaired.
5) The important thing, make a copy of the damaged database (.mdb) file so that you have a backup. Backups help you to avoid losing data even in the worst of situations.
Now you can use the Compact and Repair tool for initial luck. Minor errors will be squeezed out through this process but for major corruption errors, use a recovery tool to open MDB file before vandalizing your database any further.
Recoveryfix for Access Repair is excellent for compacting and repairing access databases. This tool has two recovery modes to obtain optimum results, i.e. Standard mode to rebuild the existing database and Template mode when the internal structure of the database gets damaged to recreate a new database. It also features Live Preview technology to display the database file content and structure. It supports MS Access 2010, 2007, 2003, XP, 2000, 97 and MS Access 95 version. Try the fully functional free evaluation version before paying a penny.