Workgroup Information File

  • Thread starter Thread starter Stuart Grant
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Stuart Grant

I'm very much a beginner but about a year ago I wrote a Visual Basic
program using a small Access database which i had set up.

I had to abandon the project but have now come back to it but when I try
to run the program i get the error message -
"Can't start your application. The workgroup information file is
missing or being used exclusively by another user"

This is apparently an message from Access. I have read the Microsoft
Support KB article about it but still don't know what to do. I have
never knowingly "secured" this database. I am not interested in doing
so for this is a home computer. There is no group although there is a
small Wireless LAN with my wife's computer. She never uses Access.

The file system.mdw does exist and is in the right place.

I'm sure the question has been asked a hundred times on this forum. But
what do I do ?

Stuart
 
Check the Windows permission on the folder where the system.mdw exists -
do you have permission to it?

What version of Access? If >= 2002 then it should create a new mdw for
you, if it can't find one.

Joan Wild
MS Access MVP
 
Thanks for answering and apologies for delay in responding.

I have permission for the folder with the system.mdw. I have permission
for everything as administrator.

Veraion is Access 2003.

Stuart Grant
 
Thanks for answering and apologies for delay in responding.

I have permission for the folder with the system.mdw. I have permission
for everything as administrator.

Veraion is Access 2003.

Stuart Grant
 
Do a search on your computer for *.mdw; be sure to include system and
hidden folders in the search.

Rename every mdw file you find.

Then open Access, and it will create a new mdw for you.

Joan Wild
MS Access MVP
 
Your first 'tries to do a mail merge' - from Access or from Word?

I assume that the 'create a mail merge document and gain access to the
DB to create her letter' means from within Word. If so, does she setup
the correct mdw file to use and provide a username/password? If she
doesn't provide the mdw filename, then she is gaining access via the
standard system.mdw, which should not succeed if the mdb is secured
correctly.

You'd need to tell us the specific steps taken in order to diagnose.

Joan Wild
MS Access MVP

I set up user level security on my database, and now when one of my users who
has "admin" privileges the same as mine tries to do a mail merge, she gets
the same error. I checked to see if anyone else had the DB open and they did
not. The strange thing is that she can create a mail merge document and gain
access to the DB to create her letter. However, after she saves the template,
she cannot go back in and use it for future mail merges. We also cannot
access it from Access to do the mail merge. It is on a network drive, and my
IT guys looked at it and can't figure it out either.

It does work on my computer.

Any suggestions?

Joan said:
Do a search on your computer for *.mdw; be sure to include system and
hidden folders in the search.

Rename every mdw file you find.

Then open Access, and it will create a new mdw for you.

Joan Wild
MS Access MVP
Thanks for answering and apologies for delay in responding.
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Stuart
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