"The record source does not exist" error pops up, but is fixed on restart / Access 2016

[Kmerritt]

Hello!



I have a weird issue I've been running into with some Access databases within my company.

Our users use a variety of Access databases daily, and multiple users have had either "The record source doesn't exist" or "Microsoft Access cannot find object ____" error pop up at random intervals on a variety of buttons. The error will pop up on buttons & processes that have worked for years, and have even worked on that day. If the user restarts Access, then the button works no problem. The issue seems to pop up if the user is signed into Access for an extended period of time and goes into Access later to do work.

It's an odd issue, especially since Access is able to find every object without issue after closing and reopening the Access database. Some of these databases are 6+ years old and have never had this issue until recently.

The company upgraded all the servers that Access is tied to over a year ago (SQL & Advantage) so I don't believe there's any kind of compatibility or connection issue. No other changes have been made before the errors started popping up.

We also use Total Access Emailer 2013 to send out bulk emails, but the errors pop up on buttons that don't use TAE.

It's a small issue that is fixed with an Access restart, but it's annoying and I don't want it to get worse!

Any troubleshooting insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[CJ_London]

sounds like either a coding problem or your users are sharing the front end and some corruption has crept in

[Kmerritt]

Hi Ajax,

Thank you for your reply!

To add a little more to this: The Access databases are located on a network drive and the users access them through shortcuts on their desktops that we create. This is how they've used them the last 6+ years so still weird that this error is now popping up.

Any suggestions on how to potentially fix this?

Thank you!

[CJ_London]

yes - users should have a copy of the front end on their local drive, linked to the backend on the network. If you haven't been doing this for six years, you've been lucky. You are now seeing signs of corruption so the sooner you set it up correctly, the better

[Kmerritt]

Thanks! Now for the silly / obvious question: how do I copy the database on the front end local drive while still linking to the network? I've always just made a shortcut from the network drive on to user's desktops.

[CJ_London]

there are plenty of threads on the subject since it is a common requirement. - google 'deploy access front end to users' or similar for many links

this link has links to many potential solutions

https://www.devhut.net/2015/06/30/ms...to-your-users/

[Kmerritt]

OK I will try these out. Thank you for your help!

[ssanfu]

Thanks! Now for the silly / obvious question: how do I copy the database on the front end local drive while still linking to the network? I've always just made a shortcut from the network drive on to user's desktops.

It sounds like you do not have a split dB.

The BE (back end) would be only the tables.
The FE (front end) has everything EXCEPT the tables.
In the FE, link the FE to the BE tables.

When linking, you should not use drive letters, use the UNC path.

[Kmerritt]

Wanted to follow up on this because I found a solution! Our IT team recently added a Group Policy tied to our mapped drives where the Access databases are located. There are two settings for the policy: "Replace" and "Update". We had it on "Replace", and I found a forum online that says "Replace" can cause short network disconnects that are enough to break a connection to an open Access database. We changed the Group Policy to "Update" and haven't had any issues since!

Appreciate everyone who responded here. Your suggestions helped us pinpoint where the issue was and helped us find this solution.