Microsoft Access Downloads

Various Downloads

• Newly updated (Jun 21, 2007)! A demo database with a few administrative tools (A2K format), including ADO UserRoster-based tools to see who is logged onto a an MDB (for this by itself, try WhosOnADO.zip), as well as MSLDBUSR.DLL-based equivalents (for A97). Also includes a tools for backing up and compacting databases.
• A demo database showing how to implement administration of lookups from a single form (Access97), Version 1.0 (2002/10/11). Works when converted to A2K (not tested in A2K2).
• Multiple-data Source Reconnect Utility (Access97), Version 1.3 (2003/02/06). Works when converted to A2K (not tested in A2K2).
• Demo database for A2K form PageBreak problem (2002/5/23)
• Create a Partial Empty Replica database (Access97), Version 1.3 (2000/4/16)
• Area Code database (Access97)
• Area Code spreadsheet (Excel97)
• Microsoft multiselect listbox OCX (16- and 32-bit -- superseded by the Access97 listbox control)
• Microsoft tab strip OCX (16- and 32-bit -- superseded by Access97 tab control)

The Access Bookmark/RecordsetClone bug -- FIXED!!!

• The Bookmark Bug on Microsoft's Web Site
  
  • Jet SP3 update. All the Jet service packs since SP2 have corrected the Bookmark Bug.

  • The MS Knowledge base article on the subject. MS has still not really gotten very sophisticated about the workaround for the problem -- it would be nice if we could depend on the last two versions of Jet correcting the problem, but given how long it took to even identify the bug, it seems to me that any use of bookmark navigation in forms where record deletion is involved should do something more than just requery the form before finding the bookmark. Mostly this is because a requery can be very resource expensive, and shouldn't be called except when it's been determined to be necessary. Andy Baron's solution (see below) is much more sophisticated and robust than Microsoft's.

    Additionally, there is no patch for Access 2 or Access 95 (and likely never will be, given the Access 2 Y2K patch fiasco), so the only solution with those versions of Access is to use the coded workaround. Microsoft really ought to provide a more robust solution on their website.

    Also, note that in the article above, MS is saying the bug kicks in after 255 records, even though all the testing we did at the time the bug was discovered (August 1998) indicated that it was after 262 records, instead. MS's number is much more attractive, since it would seem to be related to some 8-bit limitation, but the 262-record number was what we actually found in testing.

• Various Solutions & Tests for the problem (see the Jet SP3 update link above for the program-level fix in Access97; note that Access 2000 appears to be immune to the problem, but no one should be using that, anyway, if they can avoid it)
  • Keri Hardwick's definitive investigation of the problem on Dev Ashish's Access Web. Her sample Access97 database and a Word97 document are the best investigation of the problem available anywhere. It includes Andy Baron's robust workaround for the problem.
  • Alan Browne's page on the problem.
  • Zip file of my example database that exhibits the problem.
  • Text of IPF messages that occur under certain circumstances in association with the Bug.
• News Coverage of the Bug on the Web
  • CNET's coverage of the bug -- initiated at my urging
    • CNET's overview of various bug problems
      • The original error-infested article
      • My response, correcting some of the errors in it.
      • CNET followup once Microsoft had acknowledged what everyone already knew -- that the bug effected version 2, 95 and 97 of Access.
      • CNET's last article, claiming that Jet is also prone to the bug. There was never any evidence that this was true, and none has emerged since that time.

    NOTE: It is my sincere belief that much of the other Web coverage drew quite heavily on CNET's reporting. Indeed, the InfoWorld article exhibits evidence of plagiarism, in my opinion. I would exclude the BugNet and Access Advisor reports from this accusation because they appear to be original reporting.

  • InfoWorld's incredibly error-ridden article, Access bug traced to Microsoft's Jet engine. Peter Miller of PKSolutions wrote a paragraph by paragraph rebuttal that completely demolishes any credibility the InfoWorld article pretends to have. Like the PCWeek article, it appears to lift certain quotes directly from the original CNET article.
  • ACCESS-OFFICE-VB ADVISOR's article, NewsItem: Microsoft Access Bug Corrupts Data! uses Andy Baron's solution, which was described in the November issue (not available on the web).
  • BugNet's alert on the problem -- came out early in the process of figuring out the bug, and still points (erroneously) to combo boxes being implicated in the problem (it was clear even at that point that combo boxes had nothing to do with it).
  • PCWeek's lame article, which appears to be mostly cobbed from CNET.
  • ComputerWorld's notice about the problem.

Please let me know if you know of any other links that would be useful here.

©1998-2007, David Fenton Associates. Created August 30, 1998. Last updated June 21st, 2007.