Greg S
weeden1949 at hotmail.com
Wed Mar 12 10:21:00 CST 2003
Hello everyone! I have a real puzzler (for me). The database is secure using Access's security. It's Access 97, SP2. The database is split, with the application (Front End) residing on each user's workstation, and the Back End residing on the server. The mdw security file is also on the same server as the BE, but in a different folder. The number of users at any given time varies from 10-20, with a maximum of 12 actually entering/modifying data. There are five viewing stations where the Public can access records, but no data entry is allowed. There are also 5 Terminal Servers allowed access, but, like the Public, they can only view records (uhh, so I guess that makes a maximum of 22 users...). The BE is about 500 MB. The mdw file (RecUsers.mdw) is usually only about 140Kb. This setup has been working since May 2002 without this happening. Then, about two weeks ago, some of the users started getting the message "File Locked by Another User..." or something similar to that for the RecUser.mdw file when they tried to start Access on their workstation. Those who were currently in the database (and, accordingly, in the mdw file as well) were unaffected until they closed Access and tried to open it again. The only resolution to it, once one person has been locked out, is to kick EVERYONE out, delete the corrupted mdw file, replace it with a copy, and let'em all back in. HOWEVER, that isn't always easy either becuase some of the time the system will not allow us to delete the mdw file (In use, or so Windows thinks), so we end up having to reboot the server (which makes the County Recorder unhappy...), breaking any real or imagined link to the mdw file, then delete it and replace it with a fresh copy. The server, an HP, is a 4-drive raid and has had to have two drives replaced within the last 3 months. We noticed that during this last 'binge' of lockouts, one of the drives was down and it had to be replaced. The corruption of the mdw file occurred more often during the time when the drive was down, but it still occurs when all drives were ok, but just not as often. I can't see WHY this would make any difference at all, but there was a relationship of number of corruptions in a given time frame to one of the drives being down. The RecUser.mdw file, after it has been 'corrupted' or starts locking people out, will not allow me to open it with Access, which I can normally do, but states that it's not a recognized database type or it's corrupted. If I run repair, it's then ok and can be opened normally and even reused by everyone. Has anyone seen this kind of behavior before? If so, was there a fix? Any clues or suggestions would be appreciated. TIA!!! Greg Smith Weeden1949 at hotmail.com