Access 2007 won't open ACCDB file

[Paul H]

I've understood for some time now that Access 2007 and Access 2010 use the same file format and in practice that has been true, but just lately I have been getting reports of "Unrecognized database format". I had 2007 reinstalled on my machine as well and am getting the same error. I've tried compacting and repairing, no luck. Same with importing all objects into a new database, but all this seems unnecessary. They should be readable by either version, right? I'm confused, again.

[Paul H]

Just to complicate (or maybe simplify) things. I can open the Front End of one ACCDB database, but not the ACCDB backend.

SMH

[CJ_London]

2010 will (should) read a 2007 db, but not necessarily the other way round - I would expect it to be openable but 2007 wont recognise 2010 libraries

[Paul H]

HMmmm . . ...?? Not what I was expecting. I've gone to MSDN and they detailed the conditions where 2007 won't read a "2010" database (something I did not know existed now), something a lot of people assured me was not the case. I'm at a loss as to how to deal with this. MSDN suggests some fixes, but I'm not sure how to identify the exact problem. The conditions are listed below. If any of these were added, they were done inadvertently. These databases have only recently been updated from 2003 to 2007/2010.

New and updated database sort orders:

General

Bosnian

Chinese Pronunciation

Chinese Stroke Count

Chinese (Traditional) Stroke Count

Chinese (Traditional) Bopomofo

Croatian

Indic

Japanese

Japanese Radical Stroke Count

Romanian

Serbian

Access 2010 Encryption Compliance

Database with Web objects

Application published to Access Services

Data Macro

Calculated Column

Linked Tables with Connection strings that are longer than 512 characters

Application Navigation Control

Web Browser Control

Empty Cell Control

[CJ_London]

you need to identify the upgrade path it should have been 2003>2007>2010

if you did 2003>2010 then you need to look at what you have done in 2010

can you go back to your original 2003 and upgrade again? you can leave the .mdb backend as .mdb

[Paul H]

can you go back to your original 2003 and upgrade again? you can leave the .mdb backend as .mdb

Can't be done. I've been working on these files for weeks or months, made hundreds of changes. This issue just cropped up in the last 10 days. Any upgrades were standard Access features that I've been using for years. This comes out of left field. Not an eventuality I anticipated. Not sure what I'm going to do. I'll have to test for both versions. In some cases (in house) I can require users to use 2010, others (outside agencies) could be using either 2007 or 2010. I'll have to pick and choose my battles.

I may be able to leave some back ends in .mdb format. That will fix one wagon, maybe.

[CJ_London]

I may be able to leave some back ends in .mdb format. That will fix one wagon, maybe.

it will for now but I think support for .mdb's ceased in 2013 - a number of my smaller clients are now upgrading to 2013/16 so be aware it is not a long term fix.

You need to get to a position of developing in the earliest version - i.e. 2007. To get there if you can't go back to 2003 and upgrade, you are going to have to use a 2010 machine and strip out all the 2010 functionality you identified in post #4 then save in the 2007 version.

Another slightly more blunt option may be (in 2010) to strip out all the code (copy and paste to notepad to preserve before deleting), set all the forms Has module property to No, compact and repair then try and open the db in 2007. You may still need to remove new controls such as web browser. Assuming this works, copy the code, module by module from notepad, compiling after each copy to remove/replace anything unrecognised, add back libraries as required, etc.

The other thing I would say is if you are providing a .accde front end, compiled 32 bit will only work with 32bit office and same for 64bit, they are not interchangeable. Having said that you can set flags within the code based on the office version which may address this issue but I have no real experience of them in this respect.

[Paul H]

I had every intention of saying goodbye to 2003. I will only use it in a jam. The lesson for me is I will have to test with both Access 2010 and Access 2007. That comes to me as an unpleasant surprise. Even when you open a database in 2010, it reads at the top, Access 2007/2010. I've been operating under the assumption that the database formats were the same, even though the software was different. I've seen code to trap the 32/64 bit version. I'll cross that bridge if I have to.

[CJ_London]

lesson for me is I will have to test with both Access 2010 and Access 2007.

if you develop in 2007, there should be no need to test in 2010 since 2010 will run 2007.

[Paul H]

That should work except the last person to touch this before it went out the door was using 2010. His modifications shouldn't have made a difference (adding two fields), but they did.

We are about ready to put our foot down and make it policy to only support 2010.

[Paul H]

Also, it is my opinion that Microsoft should put these conflicting procedures behind a firewall or create a new file extension. There is no warning that changes being made will make this previously readable file unreadable. This is one reason I save Word documents as .doc files. I can see this causing a lot of consternation as it has me.

Thanks for your input.

Paul

[NTC]

just to be clear on things discussed in this string. To be realistic all users still with .mdb files should be migrating by now to the .accdb format. There is a point in time where avoiding it becomes more painful. Most times the upgrade is without any issue.

Office 32 bit is still the recommended version - even if the OS is 64 bit. Only very high volume excel power users need Office 64. Typically there is no issue for Access working in both Office 32 & Office 64 unless there is custom code calling out to Com ports/features - - which is somewhat rare, and typically the type developer that is writing that code is able to deal with the differences.

no application is backward compatible from a developer's position - they all are forward compatible from the user's position. Access today has features that Access yesterday doesn't know about. So if any user is in an older version all the development is best done in that older version - and it will definitely work for the other users with the new version(s). There are of course many things that don't change version to version and so the developer can often get away with doing some development in a new version - but if the developer is complacent and not realize they are developing on thin ice it can definitely bite you if you are not careful.

[Paul H]

Thanks, NTC. I missed your comment. I didn't realize the peril I was putting myself in. Our new policy is we don't support anything prior to 2010. That solves one problem. Unfortunately I've got more in my basket, but those are for different topics.