Compact Failure 20thFeb22

[Cotswold]

From time to time I'll run a compact on the database open. Today I ran it on the database I was working on and it failed with the following fatal error:
"could not use C:\Folder\Folder2\TheAccessProg.accdb; already in use"

If I attempt to compact with it closed into another database it gives the same error. If I create a new empty database, and attempt a compact on that, I get the same error.
I'm running Access2019 on Win10 Pro. For Access itself I have updates set off. The suggestion on the internet is to roll back the current Windows update. Which I don't see the point of as Microsoft will no doubt just run the update again.

Just wondering if anyone else has had this issue.

 

[Ranman256]

Yes, tho it is rare.
I always make a copy before I compact
or compact via another app, using the compact command after I choose the file.

 

[Cotswold]

Yes, tho it is rare.
I always make a copy before I compact
or compact via another app, using the compact command after I choose the file.

Yes, Ranman256 done all that. I've more backup copies of programs on my PC than I can shake a stick at. Also, even rebooted.
Just updated Windows to 21H2 from 21H1 and no change. Compacted Ok on another PC, from 12,765 to 11, 405. Everything else is fine.

Except that is on the PC with the original issue. Still unable to compact, so I'll take a different approach to the problem, rather than thinking it is an Access problem and see how it goes.

This fault, amongst others are not caused by Access or a Windows version. It is another external program that is causing the problems and from my tests I'm 99.9% sure which it is.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Just as a wild-eyed guess here, before doing anything involving Access or that particular file, use Windows Task Manager to see what processes are open at the moment. Verify that you don't have a remnant of MSAccess.Exe at the time. A reboot would stop that, of course, but this is a "belt and suspenders" approach. I'm actually betting you won't find anything, but this is a cheap and easy enough test that I don't feel like it is a burden.

Also, if you have an advanced internet security suite of some kind on the miscreant box, see if they have a registry repair option that will clean up old crud from the registry. The fact that it is specific to a machine and that you can do the C&R from another system means it isn't a corrupted DB file.

There is ALSO the possibility that the installation of Access has gone corrupt on that machine. If you have the release kit for it, you can do an Access re-install with the REPAIR option. That sometimes helps.

 

[Cotswold]

I did submit a conclusion to this in December but unfortunately I didn't post it to this feed. The location is :

Access bugs and Anti-Virus

Regarding the various problems with Access bugs caused by the Office updates, I think you should also be aware of the effect of (some/all?) the current anti-virus software. I recently had an issue where the FE I was working on that would not compact and gave the error "C:\.........accdb...

www.access-programmers.co.uk

There is no doubt in my mind and from the results of my tests that McAfee caused the problems. Issues on the McAfee PC were not found if I moved the databases to another PC. All of the problems disappeared when I removed McAfee and did not return. That included huge bloat to the backend, which was really unusual. There has not been an issue with any of my databases. I have been running Access since Access97 and supported hundreds of businesses over 30 years and maintained their databases which were in use on a daily basis. The problem I experienced was unusual and something I had not experienced before. My Access version was set not to update in early 2021.