my database backend is replicating itself repeatedly and i don't know why

[Deborah]

I am not a programmer or IT professional, so please forgive me for not knowing how to frame my question in a professional way. (note: i don't really know VBA, either, but sometimes I borrow bits of code from various cookbooks)

-background: I built an MS Access database (to track patients in a clinic), originally in 2003 with a windows xp svc pack 3 environment. Now I have 2007 on my pc, other users still have 2003 (don't know if this is related to issue)

-I split the database; the backend lives in a folder on a shared network drive (I think its a WLAN but not sure), I gave each user (5 users total) a frontend on their individual network drives, except for one user who doesn't have one so its on the same drive as the backend (as is mine)
The frontend contains:
Switchboard to select other forms
- forms for data entry
- forms for generating frequently used reports
- forms for looking up information

Also contains queries and reports, though I tried to hide them from the other users (not totally successfully)

The backend contains:

- one large flat file with data it is all patient-related and doesn't repeat so I didn't see need to split it into more tables
- smaller look-up tables

If special reports are needed, users ask me and I write the query and create the report



FYI I did not turn the front ends into mdp or adp or whatever - on my list of things to do

did set up basic security with workgroup and passwords, tho its not totally airtight
Here's the problem:

- symptom: users were complaining about entries "dropping" or "disappearing" which I at first attributed to user error (have been too busy with other responsibilities to attend to maintenance properly)
- I finally took a closer look, and discovered that there are now multiple replicas of the backend, both in the folder on the shared drive, and in the folders on the individual drives. each is a different size, has different numbers of records, and different verrsions of records (I complied some of them in Excel to compare)

There is no one in our IT support group who is really skilled in MS Access. Can someone please help?

Thanks very, very much,
Deborah

[June7]

That is bizarre. How would the backend propagate to various folders? Someone or code has to copy the file. Are these 'backup' copies? How have you linked the frontend to the backend? Did you use UNC pathing?

[Deborah]

June7,

Thanks for responding! I agree that this is bizarre. I don't think these file are backups - I am the only person who backs up the database and I routinely do it on a different drive; besides, they do not follow access naming conventions - they have names like "database1" or "db1".
As far as pathways, to link the frontends to the backends I just used the linked table manager, but I also used (Access 2003) security protocol and there the pathway is an UNC, I think (only learned about these yesterday while researching the issue - I did say I"m an amateur!). this is the security pathway:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\MSACCESS.EXE" "H:\Dept\LICH\Psych\PatientRoster10\PatientRoster. mdb" /WRKGRP "H:\Dept\LICH\Psych\PatientRoster10\Security.m dw"

Any ideas?

Thanks again, Deborah

[Deborah]

Actually now that I look at that, it's not UNC, is it? May this is the problem? How would I change this to UNC?

[June7]

If you use drive letter path links then every user must have that same drive letter mapped. If they didn't they would get an error when trying to open object that needs records, but since they are still able to work in the db, something else is going on. Somehow they are linked to another backend, instead of the shared file. Might have something to do with the workgroup setup. Since I never used them, I can't say for sure.

Can set the UNC links manually with Linked Table Manager or with VBA. http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/o...d-a566c353544a