I deleted a table deliberately and then compacted the mdb file. Can I be one hundred and one percent certain that data cannot be recovered if the mdb file is made available outside my company?

BTW the hosts to this Forum advise me they cannot help with the mdb repair so it is not a mater of prefering service from A N Other.

any assurance re security of the table deletion / compaction process would be appreciated.

David,

When you compact a database, the following happens:

1) Access opens up a new file, in the same location, called
db1.mdb

2) If db1 is already used, db2, db3, ...

3) One by one Access "exports" the objects in your database
to the new database.

4) If successful, Access deletes your old database and renames
the db1.mdb to the same name as your original.

So, technically, the "new" is occupying a different area on
your disk, and has nothing in common with your original
database.

So, possibly, you made a copy(s) earlier, deleted them, and
Access happens to use this area because the file system
gave it.

The only way to be absolutely sure, would be to completely
erase a medium (say a ZIP drive) and work from that. And
I mean completely sanatize it.

Wayne

Wayne
thanks for that reply - I understand most of it.

I have an mdb file contining 15000 membership records and also "objects" like forms to print standard letters and also print out a Membership card. The membership card printer has started to give an error code (2501) and refuses to print the card. The other objects which also print a hard copy still work.

I have replaced the 15000 records with a table (of the same name) containing only 30 fictional sample records. (Yup this is all being done on a backup copy!!!) I then compacted it. This is all done on my only C drive.

A colleague is offering to take my mdb file and try to repair the error 2501 but I am paranoid about not letting my 15000 Member names slip outside my premises.

I follow much of your reply OK and wonder if I now copy my .mdb file (with the 30 sample records) to CD - will it have "left behind" the original 15000 records.

I note that when my son in law designed this mdb file for me (he is in the back of beyond in Southern Africa and I will not see him again until Easter 2004) there were 12000 records in the table and the file was about 11 meg. Over the years it has grown to about 17 meg and when compacted with the much smaller sample table it only reduced in size by less than half a meg. Which made me wonder if the data was still in there somewhere.

My activities are perfectly legal but the 15000 Members are all nudists / naturists and I respect their privacy and wouldn't want to take any risk at all that their data might be released.

Thanks for your first reply - I will understand perfectly if this second additional query is a bit too much too far!

best wishes

David

Originally posted by david martin
Over the years it has grown to about 17 meg and when compacted with the much smaller sample table it only reduced in size by less than half a meg.

My activities are perfectly legal but the 15000 Members are all nudists / naturists and I respect their privacy and wouldn't want to take any risk at all that their data might be released.

You don't, by chance, have a lot of picture files embedded in the database, do you?

David,

If you replaced the table, you'll be fine.

Wayne

Phile O Mile - nope, not a single image, just plain text - thanks for your interest but I think Wayne has now answered the points fully

WayneRyan
thanks Wayne, that was the ssurance I was seeking - your help greatly appreciated and I am sure that local help can fix the file
thanks again
David