.mdb refuses to directly open over network

[rjasper]

This issue started with some shortcuts that had been working for literally years no longer working. The shortcut was pointing to a network drive we will call S and looked something like this.
S:\AccessApps\MyApp\AppName.mdb It was a front end for a backend Access database. Both in Access 97 and running on Windows XP SP3. If you clicked on the shortcut you would get absolutely nothing. No error message, no screen pop, nothing. It was as if you had not clicked on it at all. My next step was to go directly to the front end and click on it. Same thing. One would thing the association was gone but it isn't. More weird is if you move the front end to the local drive, it works fine and a shortcut to the file on the local drive works fine as well. Also, if you open Access itself and then select the front end with open database, it runs fine. My current workaround is to add the location of the msaccess.exe on the local drive in front of the front end in the shortcut and then the shortcut works. Any ideas?

PS. We use ESET antivirus but I put the files in the exclusion list and that didn't help so I don't think that's the cause but I've been wrong before.

 

[boblarson]

Well your biggest problem is that you should not, I repeat, should not be running an mdb file over the network. The database should be split and the backend (tables only) on the server and EACH USER should have a copy of the frontend on THEIR machine.

If you do not do it that way, you are assured of corruption at some point (you may have hit that point). Access is very picky when it comes to network disruptions and/or lost packets. If someone is connected to the mdb/accdb file on the server (by opening it up from there) and a network disruption occurs, no matter how slight, it will corrupt things.

So, you need to fix it by splitting and putting a copy of the FE on each user's machine (you may have to fix some corruption in the current file and can try importing to a new, blank mdb file).

If you don't want to have to update user's machines with the latest front ends, check out my free auto update enabling tool at

http://www.btabdevelopment.com/main/MyFreeAccessTools/tabid/78/Default.aspx

Bob Larson
Free Access Tutorials and Samples:

http://www.btabdevelopment.com

 

[jrbarnett]

Open Internet Explorer.

Go to Tools -> Internet Options -> Security tab.
Click "Local Intranet" then click Sites.

Ensure that "Automatically detect intranet network" is unticked, and that the three items below it are ticked on.

This has solved it for me many times.

John