Access Security - Redux

[rhomer]

I setup my security for a db apparently wrong. I am totally locked out of Access, the program, totally. I can't access any of my db's or the one I had 'thought' I had secured properly. As luck would have it, I have a clean copy of my db's, which I ran on another computer. No problem there. But when I come back to my computer, no go. Am I going to have to unistall Access? Or is there some sort of work-around?
Thanks

 

[Autoeng]

Ok, when you try to start Access does it ask you for a login? If so you used the default security file system.mdw to apply your settings. Wrong thing to do. always create a new name for your security work file. You need to read the Microsoft Access Security Faq. Do a search on Microsofts website and you'll find it easy enough. Read it several times as security is complex.

Now to solve your problem. You need to go to a functioning computer with the same version Windows and Access. Do a search for the file system.mdw. Copy it to disk and then go to your computer. Do a search for system.mdw. Replace what you find with the copy on the disk.

You should be ready to go.

Autoeng

 

[ghudson]

In addition to what Autoeng suggests...

If you have altered your System.mdw, you need to rename your altered System.mdw file and get a copy of the System.mdw file from another computer that is using the same operating system as yours and also the same version of Access. Then you need to rejoin your PC to the newly copied 'generic' System.mdw file.

I advise against 'joining' a PC to a specific security workgroup. That unnecessarily forces a user to log into the secured workgroup just to open any Access db's (new or old).

You should use a custom shortcut to open a secured db. The Target: field of the shortcut should look something like this to pass on the security info...
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\msaccess.exe" /wrkgrp "X:\Testing\YourSecurityWorkgroupFile.mdw" "X:\Testing\DB.mdb" /user TestUser

HTH

 

[rhomer]

I tried the suggested proceedure and it DID NOT WORK. I even went so far as to delete the "offending" system.mdw file and copy a clean version in AND rebooted. Nope. Didn't work. Any other suggestions other that reinstalling Access? BTW....I can't even open a blank, new db without loging in.
Thanks

 

[ghudson]

Did you "rejoin" your computer back to the original "generic" system.mdw file?

On a Windows XP computer, run this program...
C:\WINDOWS\system32\WRKGADM.EXE

The "WRKGADM.EXE" file might be in a different system folder depending on which version of Windows you have.

HTH

 

[rhomer]

I am using Windows 2000 and Access 2000 as well. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I don't understand the term "rejoin." Another odd sorta thing. This db is on an interoffice "shared folder." I can go to another computer and open this db with no problem at all from the shared folder. OTH, if I copy this db to a disk, then it comes out "read only." Does any of this help?
Thanks

 

[ghudson]

Have you restored your System.mdw file?

If so, then you need to run the WRKGADM.EXE program I mentioned above. Find the WRKGADM.EXE file with Windows Explorer and double-left click it to open the program. Once the Workgroup Administrator program is opened, click the Join... button, browse to your restored System.mdw file to restore order back to your Access applications.

If you are burning your db to a CD-ROM, the burning process always add the Read-Only attribute to any file. You will have to alter the properties of the db file once you copy it back to a drive (local or network). Right-click on the file, select the properties option and deselect the read only attribute.

If you open the db directly form a CD you will get the read only warning because the db can not create the record locking file (*.ldb) file. Not a problem because that is what is supposed to happen. You just have to realize that you can not make any changes (records, designs) to a db that was opened as read only. Same problem a network user will get if they do not have the proper permissions to add/edit a file in a secured folder on a network when using a multi-user db.

HTH

 

[Pat Hartman]

A little explaination of what is going on. ALL Access databases are secured whether you realized it or not. When Access is installed, it makes a registry entry that sets system.mdw as the default workgroup file. You should NEVER under any condition, modify system.mdw. If you want to secure a database, create a new workgroup with a different name. When you join a workgroup, Access makes that new workgroup the default.

As someone said, the recommended way of opening a secured db is via a shortcut that points to the proper .mdw file. This method DOES NOT alter the registry so will not impact any other db.