DB locked - what have I done?

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Guest

Have a db used by self and colleague on server. I have upgraded to Access
2003 but colleague still on XP. I was getting these annoying security
messages, did update and everything but still having to click no and cancel
3x before file would open. I don't know what I did last time but evidently I
clicked the wrong button because now the database will not open at all -
tells us both that we do not have permission. I am owner and have admin
permission so what is going on? Have to say this is a really annoying
"feature" of 2003, Microsoft....
 
Hi, Kate.
I don't know what I did last time but evidently I
clicked the wrong button because now the database will not open at all -
tells us both that we do not have permission. I am owner and have admin
permission so what is going on? Have to say this is a really annoying
"feature" of 2003, Microsoft....
Click to expand...

The database application you are attempting to open has not been digitally
signed by the creator to guarantee that it is safe from viruses. You can
ask the creator to digitally sign the application or you can set your macro
security setting to low to avoid the warning messages altogether.

To change the macro security setting to low (which is what most of us are
doing for the time being until digital signatures become more commonplace),
open Microsoft Access 2003, select the Tools menu -> Macro -> Security... to
open the Security dialog window. Select the "Low" option and select the
"OK" button to save your change. The next time you open an Access database,
this new setting will be used.

HTH.

Gunny

See http://www.QBuilt.com for all your database needs.
See http://www.Access.QBuilt.com for Microsoft Access tips.

(Please remove ZERO_SPAM from my reply E-mail address, so that a message
will be forwarded to me.)
 
Thank you for your quick reply. I was the creator! I am also the admin.
When I right-click on the file icon I have all except special permissions and
I have changed the macro security to low. All my other dbs are fine. This
one says I have to ask the administrator to change my permissions.

How did I manage to lock myself out of an unsecured db and is there any way
I can fix it?
 
Hi, Kate.
This
one says I have to ask the administrator to change my permissions.
Click to expand...

This sounds like a message that Access is giving you, not the operating
system. If so, the database has been secured and you, as the default Admin
user, no longer have "Open/Run Database" permission.
How did I manage to lock myself out of an unsecured db and is there any way
I can fix it?
Click to expand...

You may have had help. Have either you or your colleague been playing with
Access's built-in user-level security for any other Access databases?

HTH.

Gunny

See http://www.QBuilt.com for all your database needs.
See http://www.Access.QBuilt.com for Microsoft Access tips.

(Please remove ZERO_SPAM from my reply E-mail address, so that a message
will be forwarded to me.)
 
You may have had help. Have either you or your colleague been playing with
Access's built-in user-level security for any other Access databases?
Click to expand...
No, noody was messing about with the settings. Before I installed Office
2003 Pro I was able to open two databases at once but since upgrading the PC
hangs and I just get a white screen so that is why I was fed up with having
to respond to 3 dialogue boxes each time I switched. As I said, I had
already done all the recommended upgrades to Jet, etc, and it had made no
difference. It was while I was opening this db that I must have clicked the
wrong answer and the next time I tried to open it it refused me permission.
Anybody got any ideas?
 
Enormous relief all round - I have found a .BAK file which has the datestamp
of the time I was locked out and which lets us both in, no problem. I am
going to replace the old one with this. Now, does that indicate there was
some kind of fatal error, that Access made a backup file? I had no error
warnings.
 
Hi, Kate.
Enormous relief all round - I have found a .BAK file which has the datestamp
of the time I was locked out and which lets us both in, no problem.
Click to expand...

That's good news. :-)
Now, does that indicate there was
some kind of fatal error, that Access made a backup file? I had no error
warnings.
Click to expand...

No. When such an error occurs in your version of Access, a backup of the
database is made with the <DBName>_Backup.MDB file name. The user is given
the options to report the error to Microsoft and compact and repair the
database, neither of which you recall seeing.

The fact that you found an unsecured database (was it in the same
directory?) with the <DBName>.BAK file name indicates that either the
Security Wizard was used to secure this database, or someone manually made a
copy of the database and named the copy as <DBName>.BAK, then applied
user-level security to the original database manually. The former is much
more likely than the latter, but if you have a practical joker in your
office, this isn't far-fetched at all. The Security Wizard prompts the user
to name the backup file (default <DBName>.BAK in the same directory as the
original file) before the database is secured, so you would very likely
remember this if it was you who did it.

Open up the User-level Security Wizard and see whether it looks familiar to
you. Bet it doesn't. Close the wizard with the "Cancel" button only.

You don't mention ever being prompted for a user ID and password, so the
error message you received indicates that the default Admin user was removed
from the default Admins group and the "Open/Run Database" permission was
removed from the default Users group of the workgroup used to secure the
database, and you were not joined to that workgroup when you attempted to
open your database.

HTH.

Gunny

See http://www.QBuilt.com for all your database needs.
See http://www.Access.QBuilt.com for Microsoft Access tips.

(Please remove ZERO_SPAM from my reply E-mail address, so that a message
will be forwarded to me.)
 
Now, does that indicate there was
No. When such an error occurs in your version of Access, a backup of the
database is made with the <DBName>_Backup.MDB file name. The user is given
the options to report the error to Microsoft and compact and repair the
database, neither of which you recall seeing.
Click to expand...

I have a couple of backups from crashes in the same directory, named db1.mdb
etc - but two are too small to be any good.
The fact that you found an unsecured database (was it in the same
directory?) with the <DBName>.BAK file name indicates that either the
Security Wizard was used to secure this database, or someone manually made a
copy of the database and named the copy as <DBName>.BAK, then applied
user-level security to the original database manually. The former is much
more likely than the latter, but if you have a practical joker in your
office, this isn't far-fetched at all. The Security Wizard prompts the user
to name the backup file (default <DBName>.BAK in the same directory as the
original file) before the database is secured, so you would very likely
remember this if it was you who did it.
Click to expand...

Yes, it was in the same directory - neither of us would have made it as we
rename and put it in a different dir. I am convinced that this whole thing
is related to the macro security checks recently introduced - no jokers in
this office (no techies!) - coincidence re the timestamp, etc.
Open up the User-level Security Wizard and see whether it looks familiar to
you. Bet it doesn't. Close the wizard with the "Cancel" button only.
Click to expand...

I've tried doing this on the former .BAK db > but get a message: "The
Security Wizard cannot be run on a project when the Visual Basic Environment
(VBE) project password has been set. You must first unlock the VBE project."
I set up a digital certificate yesterday which removed the stupid dialog box
re: running macros but have rolled back to 2002 today and this no longer
seems to apply...?
 
Hi, Kate.
I have a couple of backups from crashes in the same directory, named db1.mdb
etc - but two are too small to be any good.
Click to expand...

db1.mdb, et cetera, is Access's default name for a _new_ database. One will
typically see a list of db1.mdb, db2.mdb, et cetera, in a directory of a
database that is set to automatically compact on close. Access tries to
compact the database, but somebody else has the database open, and the
compaction fails, so the db1.mdb file cannot be renamed to the original name
of the database and remains in the directory. The next time this happens,
db2.mdb is created, and so on.

Access 2002 and 2003 will create a <DBName>_Backup.MDB as a backup when the
database crashes. The User-level Security Wizard creates the <DBName>.BAK
file.

Each of these file names is unique to the process that automatically created
the file. Obviously, any user could also manually create these names, too,
but if you know that neither you nor your colleague did this, then you can
easily identify which Access process did.
I am convinced that this whole thing
is related to the macro security checks recently introduced
Click to expand...

The word "security" is the only thing that "Macro Security" and "User-level
Security" have in common. These are apples and oranges. Macro security is
a feature introduced in Access 2003 that allows Access to check whether the
database file has been digitally signed by the creator (to help guarantee
against viruses and unauthorized tampering with the file before it arrives
at its intended destination). If conditions aren't met, then Access won't
open the file. User-level security is a feature that allows authorized
users to open/run the database and use individual objects in the database
file. Unauthorized users will not be able to open the database.

Each of these security measures gives the user a different error message
when refusing to open the database, so the user can easily identify which
process (or "type of security") is blocking the opening of the database.
I've tried doing this on the former .BAK db > but get a message: "The
Security Wizard cannot be run on a project when the Visual Basic Environment
(VBE) project password has been set. You must first unlock the VBE
Click to expand...
project."

Whoever applied the user-level security to the database removed the password
restriction to enable the Security Wizard, or manually circumvented the
restriction and didn't use the wizard, or there was no VBA password
restriction at the time that user-level security was applied.
I set up a digital certificate yesterday which removed the stupid dialog box
re: running macros but have rolled back to 2002 today and this no longer
seems to apply...?
Click to expand...

Correct. Access 2003 is the first version of Access that can check for a
digital certificate and can have a digital certificate assigned to a
database file to guarantee authenticity. Databases run in earlier versions
of Access cannot be protected in this manner.

HTH.

Gunny

See http://www.QBuilt.com for all your database needs.
See http://www.Access.QBuilt.com for Microsoft Access tips.

(Please remove ZERO_SPAM from my reply E-mail address, so that a message
will be forwarded to me.)
 
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