Cannot filter in text field

[johnnywyoming]

Access 2000. Museum collection database; been up and running for ten years. Today we are unable to highlight a word in the "notes" field, (a text field) and filter it. We get a message that states "Record is deleted". No records have been deleted and it doesn't matter what word we highlight or whether we are in Form view or Data sheet view. It works fine in any other text field or numeric or whatever. Any ideas??

 

[boblarson]

First up - Welcome to AWF.

Second - Is this database split (backend - tables only and on server and frontend copy on each user's machine)?

 

[johnnywyoming]

I do not believe that the data base is split. It is set up on the collections PC, and can be accessed over our peer to peer network. Thanks for the welcome.

 

[boblarson]

I do not believe that the data base is split. It is set up on the collections PC, and can be accessed over our peer to peer network. Thanks for the welcome.

Then what I'm about to tell you may not be something you want to hear. It sounds like you have corruption going on and it is possible you may lose everything in your database. However, it isn't lost yet. So, first of all we need to have you make a copy of it and save it.

Next you will want to run COMPACT AND REPAIR and then go to the table(s) and check for any records which might have their primary key missing at that point. You will need to delete any rows that have that (and you'll need to recreate that data if you want it again).

Next you can import everything into a brand new Access database file and see if that helps. If anything has trouble importing then it is likely it is corrupt and will need to be rebuilt. There is a method which you can try before that (a save as Text method) which might be able to save it if it is a form or report that is corrupt.

After all has been recovered, you will want to split the database and put the backend (tables only) on the file share you want everyone to access and the frontend (everything else) should be a COPY of the file and it should be on EVERY computer that is using it. Do not run the frontend from a central location.

Look here for more about corruption.

Look here for more about splitting the database.

 

[johnnywyoming]

Thanks Bob. I will call our local Access guru. It has been awhile since I did anything out of the ordinary in Access so I will not attempt it myself and get someone more knowledgeable in. By the way... I worked for Larson's Superstore in Medford years ago, any relation?

 

[boblarson]

By the way... I worked for Larson's Superstore in Medford years ago, any relation?

Nope, no relation (at least of that I am aware).

 

[missinglinq]

BTW, this type of situation is not really unusual! Multi-user Access databases that are not split into a front end/back end configuration can, as you've found out, run for years without trouble and then suddenly become corrupt! Once this happens, the corruption tends to recur on a regular basis until the database is split.

Ten years is a long run, although the reported record, of a multi-user, non-split db running before corruption, is 14 years!

Good luck!

Linq ;0)>