Database Password Issues

[Andros]

This is technically not about Access I suppose, it's about an application called Simply Accounting, which uses the Jet Database engine. Please bear with me, because the expertise for Simply seems to be mainly about Accounting and not the the tech side.

If your not familiar with Simply Accounting ( SA from now on in this post ), it keeps its data in an .SDB file, which I gather is a renamed .mdb and it's security information in an .SDW file. An .LDB file pops up when users open the database, and disappears when the database closes. Sound familiar?

I'm trying to gather some information on how this security system works, as I have only an acquaintance with databases.

Basically my problem is that I have a SA database with 2 users, both of whom can log in to the DB independently but not concurrently. The database resides on one of the users computers, and the other accesses it from the network.

Environment:
2XP Pro WS, MSOffice, MSWorks, Simply Accounting, Avast, AluriaAntispyware.Peer to Peer LAN.
Identical User Accounts and Passwords on both PC's, ie User1 has the same UID and PW on both computers as does User2.

The problem:
User1 on PC1 can open database in single user or muli-user mode. If User2 on PC2 attempts to login and open database while User1 is has it open, User2 get a bad username/password error.

However if User1 on PC1 logs off, User2 on PC2 can open the database (which resides on PC1 ) successfully.

This worked well on their previous LAN on their old gnarly slow spyware infested computers, however on the new computers it does not work. Inf act if I move a copy of the DB over the old computer, multiuser use works perfectly.

I'm thinking it has to do with the way tyhe password files work...something to do with SIDs maybe...like maybe if users are connecting concurrently, the fact they are presenting SIDS from 2 different machines is screwing things up?

Perhaps the database is comparing SID from WS1 with SID from WS2 when User2 on WS2 tries to connect, and seeing they are different thinks it's a different person?

Anyway, if you know something about this, please please let me know

Thanks

Len
e-pni
www.e-pni.com

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Search this forum for the subject "Workgroup Security"

From your description, I suspect (but cannot tell without more analysis than I can support at the moment) that one of the users isn't using the right .WKG file and is therefore coming in as user "ADMIN" (the default for a username in the default workgroup file when Office is first installed). User account ADMIN has "Exclusive Open" permission.

The other user might be properly set up with an account that does not have "Exclusive Open" permission. So that person does and "Open Shared" and proceeds normally. If the first user comes in at this point and finds the DB already open, default behavior is to use "Open Shared" because "Open Exclusive" isn't available at the time.

The right way to fix this problem is to force the user with Exclusive Open access permissions to properly join the Workgroup for your product. This might require you to tailor your .WKG file a bit and you might have to use Access to do it.

Search the forum before coming back with a more specific question.