When Microsoft Access Starts Failing

If you feel your Microsoft Access database may need updating, you may like to consider Microsoft SQL server. Microsoft SQL Server is faster, more reliable and capable of delivering sustained performance when data volumes are high.

This is because it uses Client/Server technologies so that data is intelligently ‘checked in’ as it is received and verified as it is transmitted.

In Microsoft’s own words….

The following comes from Microsoft article Q300216.

Microsoft Access uses Microsoft’s Jet a file-sharing database system. A file-sharing database is one in which all the processing of the file takes place at the client. When a file-sharing database, such as Microsoft Jet, is used in a multiuser environment, multiple client processes are using file read, write, and locking operations on the same shared file across a network. If, for any reason, a process cannot be completed, the file can be left in an incomplete or a corrupted state. Two examples of when a process may not be completed is when a client is terminated unexpectedly or when a network connection to a server is dropped.

Microsoft Jet is not intended to be used with high-stress, high-concurrency, 24×7 server applications, such as Web, commerce, transactional, and messaging servers. For these types of applications, the best solution is to switch to a true client/server-based database system such as Microsoft Data Engine (MSDE) or Microsoft SQL Server. When you use Microsoft Jet in high-stress applications such as Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS), customers have reported database corruption, stability issues such as IIS crashing or locking up, and also a sudden and persistent failure of the driver to connect to a valid database that requires re-starting the IIS service.”

For more information please feel free to contact us.