ACC: Jet Database Engine 3.x Error Messages Due to Corruption

ID: Q182867

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

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

This article discusses the three most common error messages returned by the Microsoft Jet database engine 3.x that denote some form of corruption in the database. The article discusses what the messages mean and how to resolve the issue(s) causing the error.

NOTE: The information in this article was originally presented in the Jet35SP2.exe readme file.


MORE INFORMATION

The following errors typically denote some form of corruption in the database. 


   Error Number:

          3197

   Error Message:

         The Microsoft Jet database engine stopped the process because you
         and another user are attempting to change the same data at the
         same time.

   Cause/Problem:

         This error typically occurs when a long value column (an OLE or
         MEMO data-type) has bad data stored in it. Long value columns
         are typically stored in a separate page from the page that the
         row is stored in. If a long value column is present in the table
         schema, the Jet database engine will attempt to read the long
         value page when reading the row of data.  In order to read the
         long value page, there is a pointer in the row of data.  This
         error is generated when the Jet database engine cannot properly
         read the long value page from the pointer present in the data row.
         When viewing a row that exhibits this behavior in Microsoft
         Access data-windows, the user will typically see the number sign
         (#) for the entire row.

   Error Number:

          3343

   Error Message:

          Unrecognized database format 'databasename.mdb'.

   Cause/Problem:

          This is typically caused when the Jet database engine was
          improperly shut down during the process of writing to disk.

   Error Number:

          3015

   Error Message:

          'databasename.mdb' isn't an index in this table. Look in the
          Indexes collection of the TableDef object to determine the valid
          index names.

   Cause/Problem:

          This error message is typically caused when there is an index
          missing on the MSysObjects table. This is typically caused if
          the repair process is aborted.

RESOLUTION

The Microsoft Jet database engine version 3.51 has an enhanced compact process designed to remedy the problems (if possible) described in the "More Information" section. The improved compact process now assumes all the functionality of the repair process, and therefore it is no longer recommended that you use the Jet database engine repair process.

Note: The Microsoft Jet database engine version 3.51 update is designed for Microsoft Access 97. You can run the compact utility on a database created in an earlier version of Microsoft Access; however, running the compact utility, "JETCOMP.exe", requires that Microsoft Access 97 be installed on your machine.

For more information about downloading the Jet database engine 3.51, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q172733 ACC97: Updated Version of Microsoft Jet 3.5 Available on MSL


REFERENCES

For more information about the enhanced compact process of the Jet database engine 3.51, please see the following file, which is included as part of the Jet35SP2.exe (Jet 3.51 update) download: 


   Readme.doc

For more information about Microsoft Access 97 error codes, search the Help

Index for "reserved error codes," or ask the Microsoft Access 97 Office Assistant.

For more information about Microsoft Jet 3.x reserved error messages, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q148410 ACC95: Microsoft Jet Database Engine 3.0 Reserved Errors List

For more information on repairing Jet databases, please see the following Article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q109953 ACC: How to Repair a Damaged Database

Additional query words: inf 


Keywords          : kberrmsg 
Version           : WINDOWS:7.0,97
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbinfo

Last Reviewed: June 2, 1999