Security disaster - locked out of db (1 Viewer)

[lyatri]

Hi
I have recently created a very basic program on access for work. I am a vet and have no background in IT other than a GCSE quite a while ago so please bear with me. My issue started when I curiously selected the user level security wizard. I thought I'd cancelled it but when I went back in it brought up a password box. Pressing enter got me into the program but obviously was annoying. I checked online and found that i was connected to security.mdw and therefore must have edited that. I also read that if I went into user groups and selected the admin account (on mine called teaching 6) and selected clear pw it would go away. Instead it now says I dont have permission to open my .mdb version or my original. I have the one step wizard reports and have access to the security.mdw link. Please help

Thanks

 

[apr pillai]

You may try re-installing MSOffice2003.

By default MSAccess have a Security Information file: system.mdw (not security.mdw), the default user-account active is Admin, a member of the Admins group.

When you open a database you are automatically (silently) logged-in as Admin User without a password.

When you set a password to the Admin user account the User Name and Password prompt starts to appear, every time you open a database. If you remove the password of Admin account the password prompt will not appear.

If you have assigned object level permissions, through the user-level security wizard, this will remain with the database, even if you reinstall msoffice.

If you are able to login into your database, go to Tools menu - -> Security and check whether you can re-assign or restore permissions to individual objects for Admin account. If possible do that and reinstate all permission to all objects (Tables, queries, Forms, Reports, Macros).

Visit this link on MSAccess Security details: Microsoft Access Security

 

[lyatri]

Thanks
I don't think that will work as I tried to open on a different computer and it still didn't work. I also then transferred the .mdb shortcut and tried pointing it to the system.mdw on the new pc but it still said I didn't have permission to open the file so I think the issue is attached to database. The error message says that I do not have permission to open and to contact admin but as I made it I can't

 

[stergio33]

Hi, Are you talking about access 2003 or earlier? If yes you must refer to the correct mdw file. (tools - security - user level - users group administration) - If you have altered the system.mdw file and you are locked out, take a clean copy of system.mdw file from another pc and overwrite the old (better keep a copy of the old in a usb stick). Then you login like admin.
If you have deleted the rights of admin in the mdb file, then you are ... locked out, until you find the mdw file that you created when you set users and passwords.
Access 2007 and later can convert to accdb format which does not use this technique for security.