Wanted: Brightest Access Guru (trying to de-secure a database)

[RJ]

Greetings,
I used to think that I had a modicum of intelligence.
That is until I had to face Access Security. I have an
understanding with security as it pertains system
administration (Unix/DEC/Windows) and to some other
databases (Sybase/Unify/Oracle). I am completely ignorant
and unfamiliar with MS Access security.

Here's my dilemma. I have been asked by a company to
perform what I thought would be a simple task. The
company has two databases that they would like to have
upgraded to a newer version of Access. They also want and
a through checkout of the databases when that is
completed. All of the equipment and databases were set up
by individuals who are long gone.
What I would like to do is de-secure both databases so
that I can copy them to my machine and work on them off
site.. When I initially copied the databases to my
machine I could not access them (did not have the proper
permissions).
The owner of the company does not want the cryptic
password scheme kludged together by a previous computer
wizard any longer.
What I have determined and / or tried.
The company has a small network. The Servers are running
Windows 2000 and the local machines are running XP. The
computers are networked as part of a domain. The .mdw
file that contains the security information is located on
a particular server. I have read quite a few posts and
read the Access Security FAQ. Section 34. of the FAQ "How
can I 'de-secure' a database' indicates that first I
must have Administrator privileges and / or be a member
of the Admins group in the workgroup information file
that helped protect the database.
No one in the company has any information regarding the
Database Admin login, but it appears that the database
user / password I currently have has sufficient
privileges to perform tasks.

Just to get my feet wet in this security arena I created
a new user "rjw" and made the user a member of every
group. In the permissions I checked every box (tables,
forms, macros etc.) However, when I log on as rjw I get a
message WARNING! The current user,rjw,is NOT listed in
the Master Reference Security Table. This user will not
have access... What the $#%&** does that mean? There is
absolutely no reference in any of the Access on line help
to that table. I can go to the Security Menu option and
see all of the information for that user rjw.

The real issue is I just want to get rid of any visible
trace of any security both (users and/or groups). In
essence I would like to be able to restructure the
databases so I can point the databases to back to the
original system.mdw. How do I do that? Is this even
possible?
In the FAQ it says to grant full permissions to the Users
Group. I gave the Users permission to everything that
includes making coffee. I also changed the ownership of
everything from someone named Darrell (who is no longer
with the company) and made the new ownerships Users for
everything..
Next FAQ says to put the Admin User Back in the Admins
Group and remove the password.DONE!. I pushed the Clear
Password Button (I'm assuming that is the same as
removing the password).
I Pressed OK to accept the new information and exited the
Database.

When I started the database, it no longer asked for a
password (a good thing) But, now, I get the dreaded
WARNING! The current user,Admin,is NOT listed in the
Master Reference Security Table. This user will not have
access... blah blah blah Message. (a bad thing)
I tried pointing back to Sysetm.mdw. When I did that then
it said I don't have permission to access. Am I missing
something very fundamental? Remember I don't know very
much about this security. I could use some help and I
sort of need it spoon fed to like your talking to a three
year old, in little bitty steps. cause I'm really
confused and tired at this point.
Many thanks in advance
RJ

 

[Rodrigo]

By the look of this (and the error you are getting). It looks like the
database is not using access security, it looks like, it's using some custom
security scheme.

Check the start up macro, or the open form (on the startup properties) and
see what they are doing. I think one of them is retrieving the user and
comparing it to a table to see the level of access the user has. If this is
the case, it should be as easy as taking this macro or function out, and you
should be all set. However it it isn't,
You say you have enough rights to do most things, try exporting all you data
to a new database and see if you can run it that way.
If you can't export your tables forms, etc. The only other thing that comes
to mind is to do a search on the network (and computers) for mdw files, and
then go from there.

Anyway, hopefully some of this makes sense, and some of it works.

Rodrigo.,

 

[Casey]

The first reply you received sounds very true. In
terms of how much you can do to really revitalize these
databases, if you can perform as a member of the admins
group is really an important factor. If you in fact do
have the versatility of being an admins group member, then
I recommend you achieve these basics for each one of your
databases:


1. Open the old database and if possible give permissions
to the Admin for everything, make him a member of the
Admins group. This may not be necessary, but do it anyway.
Close the old database.

2. Make sure you are logged into in the System.mdw
workgroup file (this is the default file that comes with
each Access package). Create a new database while not
logged into the security account of the old database.

3. Log into the old database as a member of the Admins
group. Make sure your member of the Admins group has
permissions to all objects in the database. Open the new
database. Do an import of all objects (macros, forms,
reports, modules, and tables) that are contained in the
old database into the new database. While doing this make
sure to select the Options option and select under Import
the "Menus and Toolbars" and "Import/Export Specs". Do
the import.

4. Make sure you are logged into the System.mdw workgroup
file again.

5. Close the old database.

6. Open the new database

7. See if it functions.

8. If the database functions, you have a new file to work
with. This new database can be modified as needed and
converted. After conversion you can create a new security
(mdw) file, join that security group, and do another
import of your new database objects into another new
database. At that point you can use the security wizard
to secure the database, you can create groups within your
new security file that have certain permissions, and you
can add users as you see fit to those groups.

The above is an outline of what I would try or
something similar. It would give you a new database to
work with, upgrading, and new security files to handle.
It may not work in your situation, but you might want to
try it step by step to see if you have any success. It
certainly is the direction I would go unless you have an
other immediate method.

I hope I have helped.

Good luck.

Casey