How to Fix Unrecognized Database Format of ACCDB?

Question

Lately, I was operating MS Access 2013 version and created an ACCDB file to manage my data. Then, for a long time I didn't work on my database, but yesterday, when I was trying to access my table in the database, it prompted an error ‘Unrecognized Database Format C:\Users\Name\Documents\databasehj.accdb’. I kept trying to open Microsoft Access database file over and over again, but ended up getting the same Error 3343 MS Access Unrecognized Database Format. Experts, please provide a solution.

Any help will be aprreciated.

Kind Regards,
Bruce Anderson

Answer 1

Hi Bruce,

It seems that the issue is related to Access database. To better fix the issue, I move the thread to Access forum for more help.

Thanks for your understanding.

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Best Regards,
Winnie Liang

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Answer 2

Hi Bruce,

I know you said 2013 but just to clarify it, what version of Access did you use to originally create the database (ACCDB) and what version are you using now trying to open it?

Thanks!

Answer 3

Sometimes this is a version conflict, similar to https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/office/en-US/99e2eedf-0a36-4d38-9713-f3c82018c804/access-2010-to-access-2007-unrecognized-database-format?forum=accessdev

Whatever you do, do it on a COPY. You want to save a clean version for other repair attempts. For example you may be able to create a new blank database, then import all objects from the bad database.

I'm guessing you did it over and over again so you would not be compared to the proverbial donkey who tried only twice :-)

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-Tom. Microsoft Access MVP

Answer 4

If you are opening the database using code I would suspect you are using Jet OLEDB instead of ACE OLEDB or an older version of the DAO library. There could be other issues as well such as database corruption, but it's usually a versioning issue.

Beyond that, I think we would need to know what you mean by "access my table in the database".

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Paul ~~~~ Microsoft MVP (Visual Basic)

Answer 5

Hello BruceA10,

How do yo open the database? Do you open it using Access Application? If so, what's the version of the Access application.

If not, please detail us how do you open the database.

Best Regards,

Terry 

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Answer 6

Hi BruceA,

Have you resolved this issue?

If you have, I would suggest you mark the helpful reply as answer which is the way to close a thread here.

If not, please feel free to let us know.

Best Regards,

Tao Zhou

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MSDN Community Support
Please remember to click "Mark as Answer" the responses that resolved your issue, and to click "Unmark as Answer" if not. This can be beneficial to other community members reading this thread. If you have any compliments or complaints to MSDN Support, feel free to contact [e-mail].

Answer 7

Hi BruceA,

Have you resolved this issue?

If you have, I would suggest you mark the helpful reply as answer which is the way to close a thread here.

If not, please feel free to let us know.

Best Regards,

Tao Zhou

---

MSDN Community Support
Please remember to click "Mark as Answer" the responses that resolved your issue, and to click "Unmark as Answer" if not. This can be beneficial to other community members reading this thread. If you have any compliments or complaints to MSDN Support, feel free to contact [e-mail].

Yes, the problem is fixed. Thanks for the help. :)

Answer 8

Hello Bruce,

I agree with friends above. First, you need to be a little clearer about the issue that you are facing, and as far as I think, the error "Unrecognised Database Format" might occur due to corruption in your Access database. It might be possible that you are not having the latest package of MS Access on your system, or may be your system has some bugs or virus infection or any other sort of corruptions. 
Now, as a way out, I would recommend you the "Compact & Repair" method, that lies in your Access settings. To know the steps of this method and other manual methods, you can seek help from here-
https://technodiary365.wordpress.com/2018/05/18/recover-microsoft-access-database-file/

Additionally, if you do not get any results, you can opt to a third party tool to repair corrupt Access database file automatically.

Hope that helps you. Please let me know if you need any further assistance.

Thanks & Regards,
Clark Kent

Thank @clark for providing me solution. :)

Answer 9

There are multiple causes for ‘unrecognized database format’ error which are:

1. Inadequate permissions to access the database
Solution:
In case if the domain admin with full access rights can open the Access database on the server, the issue is due to permissions on the domain or that folder where the Access database is located. Granting full permissions to all users on the network share may help resolve the “Unrecognized Database Format, the database is corrupt or in an inconsistent state”.
If the issue is still not resolved, assign Local Admin rights to all the users on that server.
Lastly, check the custom permissions on the database which displays the ‘unrecognized database format’ error. 
2. Opening the database in different versions, and abrupt closure
Solution:
Inaccessible Access database may result in corruption, which can be resolved with the help of Compact and database Repair utility provided by Microsoft.
Steps:
1. Launch Microsoft Access and go to Database Tools
2. Select Database Utility “Compact and Repair Database” option
3. A new window opens. Select the database file which shows the error code
4. Click compact to initiate the Access database repair process
5. Does not repair interface objects such as forms or reports. In case the backup copy is not available, then the user may end up losing data available in forms and reports.

So, in order to resolve Access file corruption error “Microsoft Access Unrecognized Database Format Error” and repair objects like forms and reports you can make use of a, Access database recovery tool for fixing Unrecognized Database Format Error and repair corrupt mdb and accdb files and recover macros, modules and relational databases. You can use free trial of the software to get a preview of database objects as well: https://www.stellarinfo.com/access-database-repair.php