MS ACCESS and Cannot open database ". it may not be database that your application recognizes..

Question

Hi folks,

I'm getting the error shown below after loading 2175630 rows of data into this one table. 

"Cannot open database ". it may not be database that your application recognizes, or the file may be corrupt."

It is size related it seems like, since I opened a new Access DB and loaded up couple of Excel Files and I did not get

this error. 

Could you please let me know what could be the "ROOT CAUSE" and any recommendations you may have?

Thank you!

Answer 1

What is the file size of the corrupt database?  Access has a 2GB limit and that include the space it needs to perform operations.  So if you db was say 700MB and you need to import large amounts of data and to do so, the queries... require another 1.4GB then your db comes to a crashing halt.

Try the operation again and during the process, track the file size in Windows Explorer.

Try importing the data in batches.

Is it just one particular row of data?  Try omitting it.

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Daniel Pineault, 2010-2019 Microsoft MVP
Professional Support: http://www.cardaconsultants.com
MS Access Tips and Code Samples: http://www.devhut.net

Answer 2

Thank you Daniel,

You were right. I dropped one of the tables and ran the Compact on the data and saved. Now, I can upload

the file spreadsheet without any issues.

So, I'm curious what is our option since we are running short of space that MS Access DB can handle? Any ideas? 

Thanks so much!

Answer 3

So, I'm curious what is our option since we are running short of space that MS Access DB can handle? Any ideas? 

Hi GoMSACCESS,

You can make an additional BE for (each) large tables.

Imb.

Answer 4

My question is why are you running out of space.  I've developed numerous database that are used daily by 50+ employees and not one is nearing the 2GB limit.  So what is in yours that is causing you to near the limit?

The No. culprit normally is attachments.  It is not a good idea to use attachment fields, EVER!  You can learn more at http://www.devhut.net/2016/10/03/adding-attachments-to-an-access-database/

Beyond that, you can split your data/tables into multiple back-end files.  But this is normally just a band-aid.

Another option is to switch your back-end to SQL Server or SQL Server Express.

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Daniel Pineault, 2010-2019 Microsoft MVP
Professional Support: http://www.cardaconsultants.com
MS Access Tips and Code Samples: http://www.devhut.net