Random Access Database Corruptions

[TheFitz]

I've got a simple, single user access database application. I have not done anything differently in this one compared to any other database I've written, however, randomly this database corrupts and although Access tries to repair it, it can't and we end up in a continious loop of repairing and then error about it being corrupt.

I have been able to recove the DB, by recreating a blank DB, and loading all forms, queries, tables etc to it. This then works fine. The DB is working from the local machine on the C: drive. I have got a separate data backend, but this seems to be unaffected but it.

As my DB is a personal DB and I don't really mind the issue every so often, I haven't persued it, however I've just had a call from a programming friend of mine, who had also had a similar problem with another database where he has fixed it in the same way. He was interested if I had seen it before.

He managed to work a little further and using the shift key, access the backed, however, the first form on his database was corrupt and back into the cycle of repairing.

Further to this, he's tried opening other forms in the corrupt database and they work fine. This would suggest a corruption on the first form, however, if he tried opening the first form after opening one of the rest, there is no problem and the corruption has gone. Compact and repair works and DB all works fine.

These two databases are un-related, and are in different companies (well, on'es on my home PC!!), therefore no direct ties.

Anyone come across this before and if so, can you tell me what's going on??

Thanks

Fitz

Fitz
Did you know, there are 10 types of people in this world:
* Those who understand binary
and
* Those who Don't!!

 

[MajP]

Most corruption in Access DB's come from forms. If there is something about a form that causes corruption and you suck the form into a new db eventually it will get corrupted again. There are a couple of utilities I have seen referenced on this site that will write all of your object properties to a textfile (i.e forms, reports, modules). Then you can dynamically create all objects in a new database. Thus you are not pulling a corrupted form or report into a new db. I have built some simple utilities to do this, but the ones referenced have been very robust.

 

[JoeAtWork]

Have you tried decompiling yet? This fixes most corruption issues for me.

Joe Schwarz
Custom Software Developer

http://www.plandev.net

 

[jasonphillipstx]

MajP,

can you give me the names or locations of the utilities you referenced?

 

[missinglinq]

Allen Browne has an excellent paper on the prevention of corruption:

http://allenbrowne.com/ser-25.html

The Missinglinq

Richmond, Virginia

There's ALWAYS more than one way to skin a cat!