# database file
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/database-file/121191
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [July 28, 2002, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/database-file/121191 "2002-07-28T01:49:52Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@SlickRoenick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlickRoenick)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2002, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/database-file/121191/1 "2002-07-28T01:49:52Z")
Here’s the scoop: A friend of mine gave me a copy of an Access database file. It’s extension is .mdb but when I try to open it with MS Access, it tells me “Unrecognizable database format.” It then says that it has to be “Jet extension” or something like that, but jet extension IS .mdb but it still won’t open, so how do i get this file to work?
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### Author:  [@BF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BF)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2002, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/database-file/121191/2 "2002-07-28T02:01:44Z")
The easiest answer is that your friend gave you an Access2000 file and you’re trying to open it with Access97, or an Access97 file and you’re trying to open it with A95, etc. Check that first and let us know. There is backward compatibility where you can open an A97 file with A2K, but not vice versa. If this is the problem, have your friend save the file as the appropriate dbase that you have.
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### Author:  [@SlickRoenick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlickRoenick)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2002, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/database-file/121191/3 "2002-07-28T02:04:07Z")
We are both using 2000.
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### Author:  [@BF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BF)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2002, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/database-file/121191/4 "2002-07-28T02:16:40Z")
Then there’s a possibility that the dbase file is corrupt. Open A2K and try to run the compact/repair utility under database utilities. He doesn’t have linked tables to this app, does he/she?
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### Author:  [@SlickRoenick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlickRoenick)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2002, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/database-file/121191/5 "2002-07-28T03:03:41Z")
When i try to run the compact/repair tool, I get the same unrecognizable file error. What does “linked tables” mean?
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### Author:  [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2002, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/database-file/121191/6 "2002-07-28T04:32:10Z")
There’s also the possibility your friend created the file with another program which saves the data in Access mdb files but is set up so that those can only be opened with the program used to create it. I’ve encountered a couple of programs that operate that way.
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### Author:  [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2002, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/database-file/121191/7 "2002-07-28T05:32:41Z")
Send your file back to your friend to see if they can open it. If not, it got corrupted in transit to you. Just have them resend the original file. If they can open it then there is something wrong between the two versions of Access you both have.
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### Author:  [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2002, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/database-file/121191/8 "2002-07-28T05:53:50Z")
A linked table is a table that is in another database. The other database could be Access, SQL Server, dBase or any of a large number of database types.
A linked table can be viewed from the Access database, just as if the data was actually being stored there, but not if you are looking at it on a different machine than the one the link was created on, since the source database isn’t available on your system.
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### Author:  [@SlickRoenick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlickRoenick)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2002, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/database-file/121191/9 "2002-07-28T20:26:26Z")
The reason I have the file now is b/c his computer got messed bad. It wouldn’t boot any further than POST. So I reinstalled Windows 98 but scandisk made some changes. Changes included renaming Windows directory to “Dir00003” and Program Files to “Dir00008”. But anyway, everything got renamed and now Office programs don’t load right. So I’m wondering if when he does load it back on, whether or not his file will even work at all! And of course I would be the one he’s gonna blame b/c “I was the last one to touch it”.
Is there anyway to send the file to Microsoft and have then “debug” it to make it work?
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### Author:  [@BF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BF)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2002, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/database-file/121191/10 "2002-07-28T23:56:09Z")
**Muldoon III** , I think this situation requires a punt. If your bud’s machine was trashed and then he sent you the file, it sounds very much like it was corrupted from his machine. If I had your bud’s machine, I would slick it and start over. As far as recoverability of this file, you are SOL. I’m sure M$ would love for you to send them this file and charge you appropriately. As someone who works with Access for a living, I have never heard of M$ offering data recoverability services. (If anybody’s ever heard of this, please let me know)
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### Author:  [@SlickRoenick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlickRoenick)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2002, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/database-file/121191/11 "2002-07-29T01:58:00Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by BF \*
> \*\ ***Muldoon III** , I think this situation requires a punt. If your bud’s machine was trashed and then he sent you the file, it sounds very much like it was corrupted from his machine. If I had your bud’s machine, I would slick it and start over. As far as recoverability of this file, you are SOL. \*\*
The file was fine BEFORE the machine got funked up though. There IS a backup, however, BUT, what if the backup is just as corrupt as this one? I mean Access doesn’t want to open this .mdb at all! So what are the chances that it will open this one? Could the size of the file have anything to do with it? it’s 32KB long.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2002, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/database-file/121191/12 "2002-07-29T07:32:09Z")
32KB is suspiciously small for an Access mdb; I just created a blank one and saved it empty; it was 52KB.