I have inherited care and feeding of approx. 30 databases. Most are housed on a network server. I am reading the Microsoft Security FAQ, but keep running into one stumbling block. I don't see any .MDW file on this server. I've scanned for it several times. When we use the WRKGADM program, it connects to the .MDA that is on the server. We have 30-35 users total that might be in these databases, but setting up someone new gets dicey. Any clues as to what might be going on? Am I just missing the .MDW or can Access function without one?
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Inherited Access DB Security
- Thread starter PaulaJ
- Start date
In access 1.x and access 2.0, security file was called system.mda
Then, Access 95, 97, 2000 called the file system.mdw
You can actually call the security file anything you want, so I am guessing that the security file you are searching for on the network is called 'system.mda' on your system.
Hope This Helps,
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Access Add-on developer![[pc]](/data/assets/smilies/pc.gif "[pc] [pc]")
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Then, Access 95, 97, 2000 called the file system.mdw
You can actually call the security file anything you want, so I am guessing that the security file you are searching for on the network is called 'system.mda' on your system.
Hope This Helps,
Hap
Access Add-on developer
- - Thread starter
- #3
Is it her PC?
Can someone else login from her PC.
Can she login from a different PC.
If it is her PC that is giving you the problem, compare how the startup shortcut is entered compared to a good PC.
If she can not log on at any PC, then perhaps her security is defined differently than your other users.
Good Luck,
Hap Access Add-on developer -
Can someone else login from her PC.
Can she login from a different PC.
If it is her PC that is giving you the problem, compare how the startup shortcut is entered compared to a good PC.
If she can not log on at any PC, then perhaps her security is defined differently than your other users.
Good Luck,
Hap Access Add-on developer
- - Thread starter
- #5
Yes it appears to be her PC. I can sign on as her from my PC. We were able to get her in by assigning "Write" access to the Data base through Novell. But now when she is in the DB, no one else can get in. So I don't think that is the answer. We have pointed her to the one and only .MDA but keep getting the error that "someone else is in the DB" even when there was no .ldb for that database.The previous person at this desk used my Administrator signon, unbeknownst to me. SO I really need to figure this out. Appreciate the help.
Can you sign in as yourself on her PC?
Make sure that on her PC, MS access is not set to open the database in 'Exclusive' mode, otherwise, her PC would be able to login only when everyone else is off and vice versa.
Hap Access Add-on developer -
Make sure that on her PC, MS access is not set to open the database in 'Exclusive' mode, otherwise, her PC would be able to login only when everyone else is off and vice versa.
Hap Access Add-on developer
- I am so happy I get to reply to this message. I struggled with this situation for several days myself. Several people helped me get it straight including someone on this forum.
Here is what is happening. When you created security on the database you modified your own system.mdw (and you probably didn't even know it). That is why you can get it as anybody on your pc because you are using it from your own directories. But hers doesn't have your changes in it.
Here is what I did and it took me many, many tries to get it exactly right. (I followed that security faq from MS and it only partially answered my problem). I started with a clean unsecured db and a clean system.mdw (which happened to show up in my application data\microsoft\Access folder. Others have said it is in the system32 but I swear, it did not show up until I created an admin password!)
Signed out and back in as admin with the password. Then I ran the WRKGRP Admin program from the security dialog and created a new mdw (it doesn't matter what you call it). I put it in the directory where my database was. I then followed the rest of the instructions about creating a new admin in the Admins group, sign off and on, and then removed admin from Admins group and ran the security wizard making sure I specified the shortcut. That seemed to be the secret. Then I copied the database and the new mdw to the network and made sure the short cut pointed to where it was (this other post will give you exact syntax but it is something like this ---"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\MSACCESS.EXE" "\\Sever\Path\Folder\DatabaseName.mdb" /user "theirUserName" /WRKGRP "\\Sever\Path\Folder\Xxxx.mdw" ). When I was sure that worked, I took that shortcut over to another user machine and put it on her desktop. After some minor tweeking for the location of her msaccess program, it worked like a champ. She uses the shortcut to get into the secured app and she can then use access on her machine to create anything she wants.
Once I verified that it worked, I went back to my machine and replaced my system.mdw with an orginal with no changes or you can open up a db on your desktop and undo the security changes. Then you can use the shortcut on your desktop to get to your secured app on the network also.
On the network, I checked "sharable" under the netware rights and more than one person can use it at a time. I also made sure in the database it was "shared". I didn't want anybody to be able to change it so I made it hidden. This is not foolproof and only keeps honest people out. But if you have strong security on your network, there can be rights placed on the folder so people can't delete it but still read, write and update.
There is an entry on april 7 on this forum that is going to be what you need. Someone emailed it to me - these are the links in case you can't find it in this forum by title.
Hope this helps save you some aggrivation!
Here is what is happening. When you created security on the database you modified your own system.mdw (and you probably didn't even know it). That is why you can get it as anybody on your pc because you are using it from your own directories. But hers doesn't have your changes in it.
Here is what I did and it took me many, many tries to get it exactly right. (I followed that security faq from MS and it only partially answered my problem). I started with a clean unsecured db and a clean system.mdw (which happened to show up in my application data\microsoft\Access folder. Others have said it is in the system32 but I swear, it did not show up until I created an admin password!)
Signed out and back in as admin with the password. Then I ran the WRKGRP Admin program from the security dialog and created a new mdw (it doesn't matter what you call it). I put it in the directory where my database was. I then followed the rest of the instructions about creating a new admin in the Admins group, sign off and on, and then removed admin from Admins group and ran the security wizard making sure I specified the shortcut. That seemed to be the secret. Then I copied the database and the new mdw to the network and made sure the short cut pointed to where it was (this other post will give you exact syntax but it is something like this ---"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\MSACCESS.EXE" "\\Sever\Path\Folder\DatabaseName.mdb" /user "theirUserName" /WRKGRP "\\Sever\Path\Folder\Xxxx.mdw" ). When I was sure that worked, I took that shortcut over to another user machine and put it on her desktop. After some minor tweeking for the location of her msaccess program, it worked like a champ. She uses the shortcut to get into the secured app and she can then use access on her machine to create anything she wants.
Once I verified that it worked, I went back to my machine and replaced my system.mdw with an orginal with no changes or you can open up a db on your desktop and undo the security changes. Then you can use the shortcut on your desktop to get to your secured app on the network also.
On the network, I checked "sharable" under the netware rights and more than one person can use it at a time. I also made sure in the database it was "shared". I didn't want anybody to be able to change it so I made it hidden. This is not foolproof and only keeps honest people out. But if you have strong security on your network, there can be rights placed on the folder so people can't delete it but still read, write and update.
There is an entry on april 7 on this forum that is going to be what you need. Someone emailed it to me - these are the links in case you can't find it in this forum by title.
Hope this helps save you some aggrivation!
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