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KBAlertz.com: (839782) - Explains the exclusive lock error that occurs when you try to open a form, a report, or a module in Design view in Access 2000. To work around the problem, rename or move the database file to a different folder, or open the database exclusively.

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Microsoft Knowledge Base Article

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©2005-©2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use | Trademarks



Article ID: 839782 - Last Review: July 28, 2006 - Revision: 1.3

You receive a "You do not have exclusive access to the database at this time. If you proceed to make changes, you may not be able to save them later." error message when you try to open database objects in Access

View products that this article applies to.

Novice: Requires knowledge of the user interface on single-user computers.

This article applies only to a Microsoft Access database (.mdb).

On This Page

SYMPTOMS

When you open a Microsoft Access database object, such as a form, a report, a macro, or a module in Design view, you may receive the following error message:
You do not have exclusive access to the database at this time. If you proceed to make changes, you may not be able to save them later.
This error message occurs even if there is only one user in the database.
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CAUSE

If the database file and the workgroup information file have the same name and are located in the same folder, two record-locking information files (.ldb) are created when an Access object is opened. This causes the error message that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section.

Note By default, the record-locking information file is created with the same file name as the workgroup information file. The record-locking information file is also created in the same folder as the workgroup information file. The record-locking information file has an .ldb file name extension.
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WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods:
  • Rename the database file to make sure that only one .ldb file is in the folder that contains the database file and the workgroup information file.
  • Move the database file to another folder.
  • Open the database exclusively.
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MORE INFORMATION

Steps to reproduce the problem

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Create a new workgroup information file for your Microsoft Access 2000 database

To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, and then click Run.
  2. In the Run dialog box, type Full path of Wrkgadm.exe in the Open box.

    Note By default, the Wrkgadm.exe file is located in the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\1033 folder.
  3. In the Workgroup Administrator dialog box, click Create.
  4. In the Workgroup Owner Information dialog box, type Northwind in the Name box, and then type 5 in the Workgroup ID box.
  5. Click OK.
  6. In the Workgroup Information File dialog box, type the location that you want to save the file to, and then click OK.
  7. In the Confirm Workgroup Information dialog box, click OK.
  8. In the Workgroup Administrator dialog box, click OK.
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Create a new workgroup information file for your Microsoft Access 2002 database and for your Microsoft Office Access 2003 database

To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Start Access 2002 or Access 2003.
  2. Open the Northwind.mdb sample database.
  3. On the Tools menu, point to Security, and then click Workgroup Administrator.
  4. In the Workgroup Administrator dialog box, click Create.
  5. In the Workgroup Owner Information dialog box, type Northwind in the Name box, and then type 5 in the Workgroup ID box.
  6. Click OK.
  7. In the Workgroup Information File dialog box, type the folder location of the database file. In the Workgroup box, type the file name Northwind.mdw, and then click OK.

    Note Make sure that the Workgroup Information file has the same file name and the same folder location as the database file.
  8. In the Confirm Workgroup Information dialog box, click OK.
  9. Close Access 2002 or Access 2003.
  10. Join the newly-created workgroup information file that you created in steps 1 through 8.
  11. Start Access 2002 or Access 2003.
  12. Open the Northwind.mdb sample database.
  13. Open an Access database object, such as a form, a report, a macro, or a module.

    You may receive the error message that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section.
When you open an Access database, if both the database file (.mdb) and the workgroup information file (.mdw) have the same name, a record-locking information file (.ldb) is created for the .mdw file and an entry that indicates that the database file is open is added to the .ldb file. After the .mdb file is opened, Access detects an .ldb file with the same name as the .mdb file in the same folder, and therefore adds another entry to the .ldb file. The entries in the .ldb file now indicate that there are two users in the database. Therefore, when you open a database object, such as a report in Design view, Access may detect two active connections in the .ldb file. This may cause the error message that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section. This error message indicates that the user does not have exclusive access to the database.

If you open the database, close the database without closing Access, and then you open the database again exclusively, you may be able to view the database object in Design view. When you open the database the first time, the .mdw file is accessed, and therefore the .ldb file is created. Two active-connection entries are written to the .ldb file. One active-connection entry is for the .mdw file, and the other active-connection entry is for the .mdb file. When you close the database, the second active-connection entry in the .ldb file may be removed or may be modified to indicate that the user is no longer connected. Subsequently, when you open the database exclusively, Access may not create an .ldb file or may not write an entry to the .ldb file because Access detects only one active entry in the .ldb file. You can open a report in Design view because Access detects only one user in the database.
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REFERENCES

For additional information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
225938  (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=225938/ ) "You do not have exclusive access..." message appears more than once when editing module
200290  (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=200290/ ) Exclusive lock required for saving design changes to Access objects
305541  (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=305541/ ) Understanding the role of workgroup information files in Access security
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APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Office Access 2003
  • Microsoft Access 2002 Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Access 2000 Standard Edition
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Keywords: 
kbsecurity kbdatabase kberrmsg kbprb KB839782
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Freckles - koplend NOSPAM-AT-NOSPAM swbell.net Reported as Irrelevant  
Written: 5/12/2004 4:20 PM
This DOES NOT COMPUTE -- atleast in Access 2000. The .ldb file is called a Access.Lockfile.9 How am I suppose to rename the Lockfile when it is created automatically by Access -- and besides, even if I try, I get the notice that "there has been a sharing violation -- source file in use. Of course it is in use -- that is the only way an .ldb file gets created.

Tawne - Tburgess NOSPAM-AT-NOSPAM aai-tpa.com Reported as Irrelevant  
Written: 1/6/2005 8:23 PM
I agree with Freckles, my database indicates that it needs to be repaired but I can't repair it because it says that it is open exclusively by another user who isn't in it and they have turned off their computer. I made a copy of the database and repaired it successfully. Now I want to save it over the old database and it won't let me do it. I can't delete the access.lockfile9 or the .mdb file. Any suggestions?

Henry J - hwj NOSPAM-AT-NOSPAM emicrosnbs.com Reported as Irrelevant  
Written: 8/2/2005 1:48 PM
I have the same problem. I found that that MS Access.exe stays in memory even though you have closed your database. To remove the lock, I had to use the task manager, and terminate Ms Access.exe - then the ldb file go away.

Wayvirgo Reported as Irrelevant  
Written: 8/8/2005 3:13 PM
Permissions, permissions, permissions! Make sure that the permissions on the *folder containing the database* are set correctly!!!!

Emily Reported as Irrelevant  
Written: 4/11/2006 12:06 PM
Wayvirgo is right ... I wrestled with this problem for weeks, researched on line, read blogs like this, nothing worked. Finally, I just ran a simple Security Wizard, assigned the intended users rights to the various tables, queries, etc., and viola' ... it worked ! No more pesky error ! Permissions, permissions, permissions !

Raju Reported as Irrelevant  
Written: 5/4/2006 3:48 AM
I had the same problem but when I restarted my computer, I could delete the .ldb file and open my .mdb file...But do I have to do this every time? How can I prevent this from happening?

irishtrash Reported as Irrelevant  
Written: 9/19/2006 8:44 AM
hi i have installed a program on my pc and everytime i try to run it the program it comes up with the kernal32 now i have uninstalled it and reinstalled it and it keeps coming up with this error. in the root folder for the program a new file called access.lockfile.9 keeps appearing. i have install this program on a different pc and it works no problam and the access.lockfile.9 does not appear in the root folder can anyone help me as what to do with this?? i have tried disableing the video card and then installing it as i belive the kernal error could be related to this but alas still no joy

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