How to Open Corrupted or Damage MDB File?

There are several corruption scenarios in which access database mdb file may get damaged or corrupted like Interrupted write operation, Faulty networking hardware, Opening and saving the .mdb file in another program etc. There are many symptoms which reflect that mdb file gets corrupted: 

• the value of certain records can range from #Deleted,
• You are unable to open mdb file.
  

As we all knows that Compact and Repair utility in Microsoft Access database is a useful utility to optimize & repair Microsoft Access database files. 

NOTE: Although the steps that are defined in the article are usually successful to recover mdb file. But to prevent your database from any unexpected severe damage, Microsoft recommends that first you create a backup copy of your mdb file before using any recovery step. 

If you are able to open corrupt mdb file use following steps for compact & repair:

 
1)If ldb file is present, first Delete it. You must first close the corresponding .mdb file before you delete the .ldb file.
2)Run the Compact and Repair utility by using following steps:
# if your database is open, first close it.
# Select: Tools>>Database Utilities>>Compact and Repair Database.

If you are unable to open corrupt mdb file use following steps for compact & repair:

# First use above two steps.
# Database to compact from dialog box, select the file that you want to compact, and then click Compact.
# In the Compact Database Into dialog box, enter a new file name, and then click Save.

If the compact and repair is not successful to repair mdb file then it will show a message. It means the damage is so severe that it cannot be corrected by these steps. Check this link for severe corruption solution.

First check these four points before running Compact and Repair Utility:

# First Make sure that you have at least twice the size of your Access database space on your drive.
# Also Make sure that you have both Open/Run and Open Exclusive permissions for the Access database.
# Make sure that at the time of compact & repairing, no one user has the Access database open.
# Make sure that the Access database is not located on a read-only network share.
 

You can also stop the compact and repair process by using CTRL+BREAK or ESC buttons. These are the simple ways through which you can open the corrupted or damaged MDB files easily.