subject: Repairing Corrupt Access Database When The Records Can't Be Read [print this page] Microsoft Access is a relational database management system (RDBMS) that combines relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with rich user interface and reliable development tools. Microsoft Access has got users all over the world since it is reasonably cheaper to implement and maintain than other database systems. However, at times the Access database can get corrupt due to various reasons such as virus infections, human errors, power fluctuations, abrupt system shutdown when the database is open, etc. In such cases, you should take appropriate corrective measures to address the issue. If you are unable to resolve the issue, then you should use a third-party Access recovery tool to repair Access database.
Consider a scenario wherein you are working on an Access database. You use Jetcomp.exe to compact the database, it fails to do so. An error message is displayed, that is:
Records can't be read, no read permissions on MyDatabase.
Cause:
The most possible cause of this error message is that the database table is corrupt and, thus, inaccessible.
Resolution:
To resolve this error message and to access the database, you should perform following steps:
Create a copy of the corrupted database table.
Paste the structure only of the database into a new table.
Open the damaged database table and also the copy of the table structure.
Switch to the damaged database table. Click Datasheet View on the View menu and select the whole record.
Click Copy on the Edit menu to copy the records from the corrupted database table.
Switch to the new table, and put the pointer in a location where the data was placed in the corrupted database table.
Click Paste on the Edit menu.
Follow these steps for all the records. Test the table after each copy-paste operation.
Once you have moved all the records, create a new database with a different name.
Import the new table and all the uncorrupted objects to the new database.
Exit MS Access.
Either rename the damaged database or move it to another location.
Delete the .ldb file of the corrupted database, if it exists.
Rename the new database as the name of the corrupted database. This should resolve the issue.
However, if you are unable to repair the database table, then you should use a third-party Access database recovery tool to repair the database table. Such tools use fast yet sophisticated scanning algorithms to repair the damaged area.
