MDB Corruption Due to DAO CompactDatabase Method – Recover Corrupt Access Database

Access – Preferred Database Application: MS Access is a preferred database application, which is chiefly used in a multi-user environment as it can be used to perform many organizational operations with absolute ease & flexibility.

Corruption Chances Multiple with Multiple Users: Chances of Access MDB database corruption multiplies with multiple users, who are carrying out the operations concurrently. Hence, more the users - more is the probability of the databases getting corrupted.

DAO CompactDatabase Method: Data Access Object (DAO) Compact Database method allows you to compact the database (closed database) and to convert the database version from a previous Access version. It also allows encryption and collating order.

Corruption Due to CompactDatabase Method – Error Emergence: While converting your Access database from a previous version using Compact Database method, corruption can happen and you can see the error message appearing on your screen that states: “This database has been converted from a prior version of Microsoft Office Access by using the DAO CompactDatabase method instead of the Convert Database command on the Tools menu (Database Utilities submenu). This has left the database in a partially converted state. If you have a copy of the database in its original format, use the Convert Database command on the Tools menu (Database Utilities submenu) to convert. If the original database is no longer available, create a new database and import your tables and queries to preserve your data. Your other database objects can’t be recovered.”

Cause: DAO CompactDatabase method can work to compact your database successfully only when the database is closed. Now, when you try to perform the operation with opened Access database, it can lead to Access database corruption.

Solving the Corruption Issue: For solving the corruption problem, you can take the following the carry out the following processes:

• Check Availability of Recent Updated Backup: Restoring your lost/corrupted database contents from a recent updated backup should be the foremost solution. It is a common possibility that you never updated the backup frequently as it might have never occurred to you that corruption would happen and backup data would prove useful to recover MDB files data.
• Rebuild Database from Scratch – An Option but Not a Suitable One: You can manually enter data in every table, form and query and thus create the database and link to the components of old database. This option is obviously not suggested and recommended as it is time-wasting and tiresome job. Also this solution will not be feasible at all in case of large databases as you might encounter problems while entering and linking data items. You should look for other safer & faster options to repair Access files after Access database corruption and to recover corrupt Access database contents.
• Third Party Access File Recovery Tools: This is perhaps the most apt option for MS Access recovery. SysTools Access Recovery software is one of the top names that you will come across. You can reply on for this software as it will not hamper the information contained in MDB files and will restore original data, structure, and formatting.