Corrupt Microsoft Access MDB Causes - Software

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Different Service Releases of Microsoft Access/Office or Service Packs of Jet installed on PCs can also cause this problem.  For some sample code to verify Jet DLL versions click here.  This can include mixing versions of Access itself, i.e. Access 97 and Access 2000.  Some people have not had any problems mixing versions of Access while others have so YMMV. (Your Mileage May Vary)

Do ensure you do not have duplicate Jet DLLs somehow installed in different directories.   Thus the OS may choose different versions of DLLs to use depending on what software was last used.  Scary stuff indeed.  Do a search on msjet or other such DLLs throughout the entire hard drive and not just the Windows\System32 directory.   IT tech wizards figure they're so much smarter than anyone else at times.

If not already done split the MDB into a front end and back end and ensure your users are using their own copy of the front end.  See the free Auto FE Updater for assistance in this latter task.  This is particularly troublesome in Access 2000 and very noticeable after just converting from Access 97.

Ensure your work station virus scanning software only checks local drives and not network drives.  Let the server's ant-virus software monitor the server.   You may not want to check MDB files for viruses as there have only been a few created in the laboratory and none in the wild.

Do not use Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me as a server with Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP clients. Source - "HOW TO: Keep a Jet 4.0 Database in Top Working Condition" [Q300216] section "Issues to Consider When You Share a Microsoft Jet Database"

Windows 2000 Terminal Services Incorrectly Closes Files on Remote Shares (Q272582) looks like it's also a potential cause.

Also see Issues that you may encounter when you open or are using a Microsoft Office Access database on a computer that is running Windows Vista - 935370.   Note that this is an SMB 2.0 issue and thus Small Business Server 2003 could also have ths problem.   This could also be a performance problem.

Run Compact Database (A97 and earlier) or Compact and Repair Database (Access 2000 and newer) on a regular basis.  Monthly at least, preferable weekly.  If you're feeling particularly paranoid then daily.  Do note that setting the Compact On Close option in a backend MDB and you access the database from a FE linked to the backend MDB this won't compact the backend.

Remove and re-install your networking protocol drivers, likely TCP/IP.

When programming close all DAO objects that you open. Examples include recordset, querydef, tabledef, and database objects.   Also set the objects to nothing.  Especially in recursive programming where you call the same function from within itself.

Ensure you don't have two Access MDBs or MDWs with the same name but different extensions.   Yes, you can use MDBs that have a totally different extension such as .DTA.  An example might be a front end named ClientTracking.MDE and the backend named ClientTracking.DTA.  Then the same .ldb file is used for both and Access/Jet gets real confused.

Ensure the temp and tmp environment variables are set to a valid directory.

Do not run IPX on NT Server where Jet databases are located across the network and Win 95 w/MS IPX/SPX is the client. Instead run TCP-IP on the NT Server and a dual protocol stack of IPX and TCP-IP on the Win 95 client. (NT to NT with IPX/SPX will not cause a problem) 

Forms corruption might be caused by using "." (period) and not "!" (bang or exclamation mark) when referencing form controls.  This posting is part of a long thread titled "Subject: Re: Leszynski/Reddick"

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