Access Open old. mdb access file under Windows 7

[GeoffGreen]

I have had to buy a new PC with Windows 7. I have installed Access 97. When I try to open the old Access files (created on old machine with Access 97 under Windows XP) they will not open. Any ideas please?

 

[alow]

What happens why you try to open? Are you able to open Access itself? If so, I would open Access first and go to File | Open, and try to get it that way. I'm not 100% sure that Access 97 is compatible with Windows 7, but you could try running Access in compatibility mode.

 

[GeoffGreen]

Thanks. Access 97 is installed under Windows 7 and opens up ok. However, when I try to open an .mdb file with Access 97 now I get the message "unrecognised file format .mdb". The files opened up in Access 97 when I was running it under Windows XP?
Obviously would like to continue to use these databases. I am avoiding running my PC in XP compatability mode - would have to buy W Professional for a start!
Any suggedtions?
Thanks.

 

[alow]

You should still be able to run a program in compatibility mode though. With Windows 7, you can choose to run programs in compatibility mode without having, or using, Windows XP Mode, itself. Right click on a file and choose Properties, then go to the Compatibility tab. Have you tried using File | Open from Access to try an open it? Another thought is to right click on an MDB and choose Open With..., then choose Access as the program and make sure to check Always use this program to open the specified file type.