Updating from Access97 to AccessXP

[Grant Baxter]

I am helping my friend upgrade his 1997 vintage business computers to
current technology. The only problem I've run into so far is that I
cannot open the Access97 .mda file in AccessXP. The only fix I can
find so far is to go back to an old .mdb file and open that in XP.
However, data has been added to the .mda database that the old .mdb
file doesn't have. Is there any way I can "update" the .mdb file with
the new data that has been added to the .mda file? I keep thinking
that there must be a way to do this, or no one would ever upgrade to
the newest version.

Can anyone point me in the right direction? I know nothing about
Access or databases in general.

TIA,

grant

 

[MacDermott]

The first thing I'd try would be to rename the mda database to mdb.
(Of course you'll be working on a copy..<g>)

 

[Grant Baxter]

The first thing I'd try would be to rename the mda database to mdb.
(Of course you'll be working on a copy..<g>)

I didn't think it could be that easy. Access still recognizes it as an
mde file.

grant

 

[Douglas J Steele]

That implies that it really is an MDE file, as MDA files aren't, of and by
themselves, MDEs.

You should be able to get the data out of the file, though, the same as with
any other database: MDEs don't do anything to protect the tables.

 

[Grant Baxter]

That implies that it really is an MDE file, as MDA files aren't, of and by
themselves, MDEs.

My bad, that mda was a mistake on my part. The extension is mde.

You should be able to get the data out of the file, though, the same as with
any other database: MDEs don't do anything to protect the tables.

Could you be a little more specific and/or point me in the right
direction? For instance could you relate the steps I need to take to
accomplish the task? I'm perfectly willing to dig for the "how" on my
own.

TIA,

grant

 

[Douglas J Steele]

My bad, that mda was a mistake on my part. The extension is mde.


Could you be a little more specific and/or point me in the right
direction? For instance could you relate the steps I need to take to
accomplish the task? I'm perfectly willing to dig for the "how" on my
own.

You should be able to import (or link to) tables in an MDE using the options
under File | Get External Data on the menu.

 

[Albert D.Kallal]

It is not clear if the mde file is "JUST" data, or if in fact it is also a
application (forms, code etc).

You can grab all of the data from the mde even with access xp

Just create a new blank mdb file in access xp, and then go file->get
external data.

You can then import all of the tables (data) from the old file.

If you got a mde application, then that application should have been split,
and you would simply convert the original mdb *used* to create the mde.
However, if you got data, and code mixed in the same file, then it NEVER
should have been converted to a mde in the first place.

Further, if the original author had split the database in the first place,
then you could run a mixed environment (both access 97, and access XP users
could work on the SAME data at the SAME TIME!! - you just leave the back end
in a97 format). This works great when you got 100 computers to upgrade, but
can only upgrade 3-5 machines per day. So, the users get new versions of the
software, but the data can continue to be shared.

So, you can easily get the data out of the mde, but the application part
(code, forms etc), REQUITES THE ORIGINAL mdb used to make that mde.

And, for a quick primer on splitting, and why we split, you can read the
following, as I also talk about mde's here:

http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal/Articles/split/index.htm

 

[Grant Baxter]

It is not clear if the mde file is "JUST" data, or if in fact it is also a
application (forms, code etc).

You can grab all of the data from the mde even with access xp

Just create a new blank mdb file in access xp, and then go file->get
external data.

You can then import all of the tables (data) from the old file.

If you got a mde application, then that application should have been split,
and you would simply convert the original mdb *used* to create the mde.
However, if you got data, and code mixed in the same file, then it NEVER
should have been converted to a mde in the first place.

Would the fact that I can run the application with just the mde file
on the new computer tell us that it is data and app mixed?

Further, if the original author had split the database in the first place,
then you could run a mixed environment (both access 97, and access XP users
could work on the SAME data at the SAME TIME!! - you just leave the back end
in a97 format). This works great when you got 100 computers to upgrade, but
can only upgrade 3-5 machines per day. So, the users get new versions of the
software, but the data can continue to be shared.

So, you can easily get the data out of the mde, but the application part
(code, forms etc), REQUITES THE ORIGINAL mdb used to make that mde.

Would it work if I opened the original mdb file, then deleted all the
data, then import the data from the mde file?

 

[Vincent Johns]

Not necessarily; the DBA may have wanted to keep the file small, or
wanted to keep people from modifying the code, or something like that.
There are valid reasons for using *.MDEs, but the *.MDB should always be
preserved in case the design needs to be changed.

Would the fact that I can run the application with just the mde file
on the new computer tell us that it is data and app mixed?

If you're lucky, the data in your *.MDE will be current, and the code in
the *.MDB should be usable. (Are the users keeping the *.MDE file up to
date?)

Would it work if I opened the original mdb file, then deleted all the
data, then import the data from the mde file?

Yes, although I assume you mean that you'd open A COPY OF the original
*.MDB file!!! And maybe rename it, as it will contain new data.

It might be a good idea to play with the new *.MDB file for a little
while (while you let the users continue to use the old *.MDE), so that
you can be sure that everything in it works as you'd like. For example,
do all the reports look exactly like the corresponding reports on the
*.MDE? You probably want to do this at a time when nobody is entering
data, or you can make a copy of the *.MDE from which you copy Table
contents, and which you will use to generate Reports, datasheets, etc.,
for comparison with your new *.MDB version.

Having satisfied yourself that everything works, you can then choose a
time when the database is not in use and substitute the new version for
the old one. It wouldn't hurt to have some way to track all the
transaction data, so that even if the new database becomes corrupted or
destroyed, you can re-run the transactions to populate a good version of
the new database.

-- Vincent Johns <[email protected]>
Please feel free to quote anything I say here.