Unlink accdb from dead host

[rockyjb1]

I am brand new to this forum and hope this is the proper venue to pose my problem. I am the treasurer for one assoc., my wife treasurer of another. I am responsible for records keeping for these associations which include financial, membership masters, sub groups for newsletter delivery option, supporting memberships, etc. etc. .[ad nauseum].



My Base computer [Desktop Win 7] died when I tried starting it, short story, hard drive fried. My online backup failed to update records beginning in 2014 that were in the proper upload folder and two weeks work of consolidating and updating records down the drain. Since the Excel source documents were on the fried memory I am unable to open a backup folder I had sent to a friend shortly before the computer died. I have tried to unlink the access database I have so that I can access hundreds of members data. None of the methods from the various help and geek blogs worked. I really need to gain access to the data I have available so I can begin my new records update [sans links].

I have used access for inventory for my personal use for years beginning in 1987. That data base remains intact today with the various interceding additions, changes and upgrades. However this was my first venture at linking and the linking procedure was probably my downfall for I doubt my online backup [Cubby] could access the source data since I cannot access my own authored document with out the source present. However, there were many more 2014 forms that were not linked that had not been updated since inception, Jan 1st.

I realize this post is rather long for my first post but I felt the background information was necessary to fully explain my problem. Should anyone care to respond, please consider this 75-year old guy is self taught in computers and programs and I always appreciate a step-by-step approach with easy to understand terminology. I have seen some of your access-speak and it is way above my head.

Thanks for your help and understanding.

Rockyjb1
[My handle is for my faithful dog 'Rocky' an abandoned furry companion for the past 4-years; I love dogs].

[June7]

What do you mean by 'online backup failed to update records' and 'unlink the access database'?

Is this a web database? Are you using SharePoint?

Can your friend send you the backup folder?

[rockyjb1]

What I mean is; I subscribe to a vaunted online storage [cloud] facility called 'Cubby'. Once a folder is entered into the Cubby update window, the ensuing updates on any files within the cubby folder [excel, accdb, word, pictures, etc.] are supposed to post and update the corresponding file in the subject cloud folder which is accessible wherever you may have access to the internet. On the last of December, I formed all the necessary Excel documents for 2014 and placed them in the 'transport' folder to the cloud so that I might access them in case I needed information while away from the home computer or in the event that something happened as did this past Sunday. Strange that the new 2014 Excel 'blank' documents were in place, there just was no corresponding data that I had entered throughout since January 2nd.

Unlink: I had sent a copy of the 'slave' accdb document to the president of one of our clubs to walk him through it and he 'fortunately' saved it on his computer and was able to email it back to me. Since the source document [Excel] is no longer available thru my Wi-Fi link to the absentee [fried] computer, I am denied access to the returned accdb document that I authored as there is no longer an available source document in the 'home' computer.

SharePoint: [Had to look it up]... I suppose this is a SharePoint as described by Microsoft tutorial, although it would be considered a "Home Windows SharePoint". Being basically lazy in nature insofar as redundancy, I wanted to be able to maintain a set of master records in Excel that would populate a corresponding back-up document in Access. Worked good for two days.

The friend has already sent the document to me; that is the problem. I cannot open it because it keeps referencing back to the host Excel document on the dead computer.

Thanks for your interest and attempt to help.

Rockyjb1

[June7]

Need to understand how the link to Excel is accomplished and why simply opening Access is thwarted by the link. Is there a form that opens by default that is dependent on the Excel link?

Try holding down shift key while opening accdb. This will override optional database settings and bypass code execution.

If this is a web database served up through SharePoint - sorry, never used either.

[ItsMe]

Where is the data?

[rockyjb1]

Need to understand how the link to Excel is accomplished and why simply opening Access is thwarted by the link. Is there a form that opens by default that is dependent on the Excel link?

Try holding down shift key while opening accdb. This will override optional database settings and bypass code execution.

If this is a web database served up through SharePoint - sorry, never used either.

June7,

Thanks for the tip but that did not work either. As for the linking, The link host has to be Excel; fields on the Accdb must be identical to those on the excel form. Once set up, when the excel fields are populated, the information is transferred over to the Access data base which acts as a backup with more flexibility than the excel data base. It is a one-way street for input and entries added, changed or deleted in the access data base will not be reflected in the excel base. When the link between the Excel host and access offspring is broken, the access data base cannot be accessed. When the computer crashed the link was broken leaving the access data base inaccessible. The data base had one table that was not linked. When I sent it to my friend, he could only access the one unlinked data base. I was trying to determine why he could not open either of the two linked data bases and I could. Since I was new to this, I did not realize the physical link must be present between the parent and the child in order to access the child. The internet enlightened me about linked databases. I learned all this after my desktop bombed and began searching for a means to open the child when the umbilical cord was cut. All the online fixit blogs I tried would not work; that is when I discovered this forum and joined up to see if someone knew how to open the orphaned database.

I hope this explains my problem a little better. Thanks for trying to assist me.

rockyjb1

[rockyjb1]

Where is the data?

The data rests on my laptop in a MSACESS accdb file. As you can see through reading my posts, I am unable to access it since there is no physical link [Wi-Fi] to the host.

Jerry

[June7]

I still don't understand what you mean by 'linked'. I am familiar with a split database arrangement where an Access frontend links to another file (the backend) residing on a file server. The backend is commonly Access/Oracle/SQL database or Excel worksheet. I am not understanding the data flow process you describe. If this is a split database with an Access accdb as backend on your laptop, where is the frontend? Why is Excel even involved?

[ItsMe]

I am still a bit confused and have the same questions as June. In an effort to understand a bit more.... There is data on your laptop that you can not look at? This data is in an accdb file? This accdb data is not all of the data because there is an excel file that did not update the accdb file yet?

[rockyjb1]

I still don't understand what you mean by 'linked'. I am familiar with a split database arrangement where an Access frontend links to another file (the backend) residing on a file server. The backend is commonly Access/Oracle/SQL database or Excel worksheet. I am not understanding the data flow process you describe. If this is a split database with an Access accdb as backend on your laptop, where is the frontend? Why is Excel even involved?

Sorry, I will try to clarify. I made [2] copies of various individual data base records. The 'host' is an excel document; the copy 'slave' is an access document. The accdb has the same information fields as the excel document. I distribute these reports monthly to officers of two different association's. They are not familiar with or use the accdb forms so I must distribute the reports in excel. I linked the excel form to an accdb form so that any changes made on the excel [host] form is replicated on the linked accdb [slave] form with directional [one way] control from the excel form. Changes made on the excel form flow to the linked accdb form but changes may be made on the slave which are not replicated on the host form [excel]. The reason is that I prefer the flexibility of the access form and is for my benefit only.

These two forms resided in my computer that bit the dust. Fortunately I had sent the accdb form to one of the club presidents that I knew had Access on his computer since I loaded it on there when I updated his computer. That is when I learned that he could not open them for they had no communication to the host. Fast forward to this past Sunday when we returned home from a weekend jaunt and my computer had bombed [and is presently getting a new hard drive]. I asked my friend to send me the accdb form I had just sent to him. When I got it on my laptop, I found that I could no longer open the forms since they were linked and the host document had been destroyed when my desk top computer died. So, I found there are methods to unlink the slave from the host but none of the attempts have worked.

It seems I read that to link an excel data base to an access data base, the host must be the excel form. Regardless, I have an access form with the information I need to rebuild my lost documents and cannot open it. Another failure was, for some unknown reason, my online backup failed to update any of entries on the newly prepare batch of 2014 documents; none of the additions and changes entered since the 2nd of January were updated in the cloud...yes, I am complaining to them about this failure. The blank documents were in place in the cloud but no inputs were recorded.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Rockyjb1

[June7]

I am still not sure how you set up this 'linking'. If you did not use the Access Import/Link wizard, what is the method?

Is this a web database or a normal database where tables can be opened in Design View?

Sorry, I have no experience with Access in the 'cloud' for data storage and updates.

[ItsMe]

The only mdb files or accdb files I have not been able to (somehow) open were corrupt beyond repair or locked down via code (on purpose). If using the shift key method does not allow you to open the file then I am thinking you should see a different error message (something other than mentioning link). The only other thing I can imagine, and I think June is wondering the same, is you employed a method to link to excel that I have not used before and or I am unaware that it exists. Hence, the persistent questions on how you are linking/sharing data.