I compacted and repaired, now the database wont work, how to fix?

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Guest

i was attempting to add additional fields in a table and i received an
error message that too many fields were defined. So i compacted and repaired
the database. Now i can add more fields to the table but several of the
functions of the forms in the database do not work now? Any suggestions on
fixing this (using access 2003).
 
Did you make a backup copy first? If so, fall back to that.

The bigger question is why you have so many fields in a table. If you have
more than ten or twenty, then your structure is most likely flawed. Even
with adding and deleting fields, it would take a while to hit the 255 field
limit and need to compact.

I'd fall back and then "normalize" my table design. We can help you with
that if you tell us the structure of your database.
 
i did make a backup copy but i have modified it so much since then that it
would be like starting over. i only had about 90-100 fields(the database is
very large) but for some reason when i tried to make the last few
modifications (adding about 12 more fields) i kept getting the error message
about too many being defined. therefore, after researching the error
message, it appeared that the compact and repair option was most appropriate.
is there any way to retrieve the status of my database before the compact and
repair was completed, but without going back to the original database which
is completely without about a months worth of modifications?
 
Backing up immediately before a compact and repair is a good idea. Backing
up and then adding a hundred hours of work is really no backup at all. I
doubt there is a way to revert to yesterday's version unless it was on the
server and got backed up to tape, or something like that.
100 fields is not necessarily too many, but I agree with Rick that it
suggests your structure may need another look. More significant, perhaps,
in terms of structure is that you added 12 fields. That is quite a few to
add.
There are no generic answers to your questions. What difficulties are you
having now? What is the database's structure (in general terms)? What is
the database's purpose?
 
Also, I would wonder (since you said 12) if you are adding fields to store
information for the months of the year and have to do so each year. If so,
you *DO* need to normalize. The field names should not contain data (March
2005, June 2006, etc.).
 
i dont know why i didnt think of checking the server initially. my network
admin did have a 1 day old version of my database on the server. i thank you
both for your suggestions. please forgive the novice type tone of my
questions. i havent programmed in access/vb since freshman year of
undergrad. never the less, lesson learned, backups are a must!!!! thanks
again.
 
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