Removing User-Level Security from pre-2003 Access DB w/ lost workgroup file

All -



Is this possible, or am I wasting time? An old Access DB (I'm guessing it was created with Access 2000 or Access 97) was passed down to me and I am tasked with updating it so that it can be used with our latest Access version (2010). The thing is, there is user-level security protecting some of the forms and tables and the security is also preventing me from using features such as the "Compact & Repair Database" feature. It is even blocking my attempts to "Save Database As...". I am able to view and use all the DB objects to an extent - some of the tables and forms cannot be edited at all due to me not having "appropriate permissions" and I cannot save any changes to the VBA code.

Has anyone dealt with something like this before? I saw a few posts about security on this forum but nothing quite similar to this. Also, my manager and I do not know the original owner of this database. I've had our IT guy grant me administration privileges on my machine, we also tried using an older version of Access to establish new Workgroups, etc., but to no avail. I've also contacted Microsoft's customer service and was told to ask for help on their technet forums or request a support ticket (which actually costs money). I have not received any replies to my thread at the technet forums.

Any help or assistance would be appreciated! Not sure what else to do on my end.

Cannot import objects to a new Access 2010 file?

Bing: access 2003 lost workgroup user security

Might have to do something like http://www.password-service.com/acce...p-password.php

No, I cannot import the protected objects to a new Access 2010 file, but I was able to import the unprotected objects into a new Access 2010 file with no problem. I dug up a few form/table extraction tools and password recovery tools but they did not work for this particular database due to the protections in place.

See:http://community.spiceworks.com/how_...in-ms-access97
then http://www.sharewareconnection.com/d...-sharecon.html

Or you might try :
http://download.cnet.com/Access-Pass...-10274100.html
http://www.rixler.com/access_password_recovery.htm
http://lastbit.com/filetypes/mdw.asp

If the import approach doesn't shed the workgroup parameters - and it may not, I can't remember, then you need to create new tables, from scratch - have the identical field names/data types.... and then do an AppendQuery that writes all the records from the protected table into your new table... that will definitely shed the workgroup issues....

ssanfu -

Thanks for the links. Two of those sites are blocked by my job's firewall but I was able to use the free trial version of Thegrideon Software's Access Password to generate a list of Users that are tied to the database, which is more than I was able to find on my own. The summary shows protected passwords associated with the reported users but they are protected from view ("****") and apparently I would have to purchase the full version of the software to view them. There is still no guarantee that if I created a new workgroup info file with this info that I will be able to fully use the database without restriction.

NTC -

I've tried importing - the unprotected objects import successfully, the protected objects don't. I'm definitely able to create new tables in this database so I will try the AppendQuery + new tables and let you know how that goes. Do you have any similar suggestions for protected forms associated with the protected tables? Do you think this would cause any conflicts with the functionality of the existing forms? My only concerns are that I will not be able to delete the original tables (due to permissions) in case AppendQuery into a new table is successful, and I cannot save any newly created forms to this database or modify the existing ones so long as the user-level security is in place.

Thanks to you both! I haven't given up yet. FYI, I'm told by Microsoft Techs (at their technet forums) that I will need the account info of the original DB creator to remove any protection. You can view that thread here (not sure if this link will work):

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/...deployprevious

Although steps one and two seem out of order, what they are saying is that you need to log in to the DB using a user with Admin privileges. Then, assign all users the same Admin full rights. Another approach may be to delete the users from the group but, I like the idea of changing the permissions and not deleting anything.

You need the password of a user that has Admin rights in the User Level Permissions. Use this privilege to adjust the security within the DB and allow for importing of objects from other files.

ItsMe -

The issue is that I do not have permissions to assign Admin privileges to a user due to previously existing security measures put in place by the original creator of this database. The original workgroup file created with this database (back in 2000 or maybe even 1999) is assumed to be lost. I cannot grant Admin privileges to any user while logged in as either of the current users - Admin and User are the only two users in the current workgroup file.

I was able to use the tool mentioned above to generate a report on the database which revealed that there are in fact 5 users and 5 Personal IDs associated with this database. I was not able to discover this on my own. Apparently if I purchase the license for this software I will be able to view those PIDs, and only then will I be able to recreate the original users with their PIDs in hopes of logging in as a recognized Admin and removing the permissions. Do any of of you know of a freeware that can retrieve this info? I have no way of assuring my Manager that purchasing a license for this Access Password software (although it looks promising, and is not very expensive) will solve our problem.


Image 1 - attempting to set permissions while logged in as user Admin



Image 2 - message when trying to add new user without a PID, I get this message

It has been a long time since I have played around with ULS. If I recall, you need an mdw file for the security to work. There is one of these files in your Windows User's profile. If you do not use the MDW file that was created specifically for the DB in question, I believe Access will default to your Window's System.MDW. In order for the DB file to function correctly, you would direct your shortcut to the NEW MDW file when opening the DB. You would use credentials previously defined by the developer in the NEW MDW file.

If you were to attempt to create another MDW file, I believe you need the following information.

Workgroup Owner Information

• Name
• Organization
• Workgroup ID

With this info, you should be able to create another MDW file and new users with passwords, permissions, etc. However, don't quote me on that. I have never tried it.

I am presuming you work inside a brand new database - and link only to the protected tables....then append to a new local table... this presumes you can link to them.....

Thanks ItsMe -

I believe you are correct-with the info from the original workgroup file (Users, PIDs) I should be able to create a brand new workgroup file and create a shortcut to the database that would point to this new MDW file. I cannot verify this because I have not yet been able to obtain the PIDs, only the users, but I have seen the solution that you speak of in other forums and posts across the web and it seemed to have worked out for those users.

NTC -

I was somewhat successful when I used a query to append protected table's data to a new table. Out of ~3400 records, nearly half did not copy over due to key violations but that is something I can work out on my own. I will experiment with creating a new database & new tables and then linking to the protected tables of the original database. But, what should I do about the protected Forms that can neither be imported to a new database nor modified in the original database? These forms are important as well. The goal is to have the protection removed so that we can freely use all objects in this database without having to recreate anything.

I think what ItsMe has suggested here would be the best alternative for me. I have asked people at the TechNet forums if Microsoft can remove the protection if I requested a support ticket - basically could they fix this if we pay them. If not, I will take my chances on the Access Password software. I will keep you all updated as soon as I can.

My issue has been resolved!!

Huge thanks to all who took the time to read & respond to this thread, special thanks to ssanfu for pointing me in the direction of http://www.thegrideon.com/'s Access Password (Pro) tool, which is what I used to recover the Users and PIDs of the user-level protected database in question (the database was an Access 2000/2002/2003 .mdb format and its original workgroup info file was lost). I first made a copy of the database to test the tool on.

With the test database open in Access 2010, I added new users (the recovered Users & their PIDs) to the default Admin and User groups (stored in System.MDW, in this case), closed the database, created a shortcut to this database, and in the shortcut's properties (right-clicked, selected properties), I entered the following info in the 'Shortcut' tab's 'Target' field:

"full path to MS Access" full path to protected database /user Admin username as it is in the mdw file

Example:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\MSACCESS.EXE" C:\...\ProtectedDatabase.mdb /user AdminUser

I applied the changes to the Shortcut, closed the shortcut, and executed the shortcut. In the Access 2010 menu, I went to File -> Info -> User and Group Permissions, and saw in the 'Current User:' field that I was now logged in as the user specified in the shortcut. Access 2010 automatically recognized the recovered users and registered the users to their respective objects. I now have all the "appropriate permissions" needed to truly update this database, thank goodness.

Awesome...

Excellent......