Noob trying to import data

[ebocious]

To anyone who might have a suggestion:



I was recently grandfathered into an IT position at a small sheet metal fabricator in Springfield, MO. The engineering department has a database in Access 2003, running on XP Pro SP3 x86. I could be mistaken, but the database seems to comprise a singular .mdb file of 20MB+, not separate files. There is practically no data redundancy at this time; the engineers manually backup this file about once a month (last backup was on 5/22).

This database has a control form that they use to get into the records. It got corrupted somehow on 6/4, and the buttons on the control form no longer work. I didn't create the form, and worse, I haven't used Access in 11 years. What little training I had is long forgotten.

I've tried to import the working forms from the 5/22 backup to the 6/4 file, and get a name conflict error. I've tried to export the data from the 6/4 file to every file type shown as an option; only the .xls format seems to work.

When I try to import the records from the .xls file, the default option of importing data and structure errs out, saying not all the data could be restored (in actuality, not a single record is restored). Appending the data seems to work, though I end up with over 20,000 duplicate records. However, I soon start getting a format error message, and then another error that says it needs to be repaired or isn't a database file.

As I said before, I am anything but a guru with Office Access. Not a single resource I've Googled thus far gives step-by-step instructions; it's all events, based on the assumption that I have experience with Access and know the jargon. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[alansidman]

Have you tried to run a compact and repair. In 2003, it is Tools--->Database Utilities. That would be my first step.

[ebocious]

Yeah. But I read that the compact and repair only repairs data. The data is not corrupted as far as I know, just the control form.

[alansidman]

When you try to export the data to .xls, are you attempting to export all data or just the interim data from beyond 5/22? If you can successfully export the interim data, try changing it to a .csv file after it has been exported. Then try to import that data back into the 5/22 backup file from the .csv file. (Make sure to make an additional copy of the backup file, just in case it blows up on you.) As a last resort, you may have to manually enter all the interim data manually.

Alan

[R_Badger]

I've tried to import the working forms from the 5/22 backup to the 6/4 file, and get a name conflict error. I've tried to export the data from the 6/4 file to every file type shown as an option; only the .xls format seems to work.

Reference this, you could try creating a new, blank database and then importing all objects except the control form from a copy of the corrupted file, followed by importing only the control form from a copy of of the back (5/22).

Assuming there is no table level damage, that should recreate the file into a workable state. (with any kind of luck)