ACC2000: "Can't find the database you specified" Error When Starting Access 97 on Computer with Office 2000 Small Business Tools

ID: Q235279

The information in this article applies to:
Moderate: Requires basic macro, coding, and interoperability skills.

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

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

When you start Microsoft Access, you may receive the following error message:

Can't find the database you specified, or you didn't specify a database at all.
Specify a valid database in the command line and include a path if necessary.


CAUSE

You have installed Microsoft Access 97, either as a stand-alone program or by using the Custom installation option from the Microsoft Office 97 Professional compact disc, into the default installation folder on a computer that already has the Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business Customer Manager installed. The most common installation procedure that will cause this error is to install the Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business Edition, and then to install the Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business Tools.


RESOLUTION

Remove the installation of Access 97, and then re-install it to a folder other than the default folder. To do so, follow these steps.

NOTE: Because there are several versions of Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, please consult your product documentation to complete these steps.

  1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.


  2. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.


  3. Select Microsoft Access 97 or Microsoft Office 97 Professional from the list of products and click Add/Remove.


  4. In the Maintenance Mode dialog box, click Remove All to remove Access 97.


  5. Search you hard disk for a file named hatten.ttf and rename it to hatten.old if found.


  6. Rename Msaccess.exe to Msaccess.old. The Msaccess.exe file should be located in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office.


  7. Install Access 97 to a new folder, for example, C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Access 97.

    Installations from the Office 97 Professional Compact Disc Only: Depending on the options that you select during a Custom installation, you may receive the following error during the reinstallation process:
    Bdrintl.dll was unable to register itself in the system registry.
    If this happens, quit the Setup program and do the following:


    8. WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

    For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

    1. On the Start menu, click Run.


    2. Type regedit and click OK.


    3. In the Registry Editor, delete the following key:


      4. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\MSO97.dll
    4. Close the Registry Editor.


    5. Run the Office 97 Setup program again.


      6. For additional information about the Bdrintl.dll error during setup, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
      Q162295 OFF97: Err Msg: "Bdrintl.dll Was Unable to Register Itself"
  8. Rename Msaccess.old to Msaccess.exe.


All of your applications should now work.


MORE INFORMATION

The Microsoft Office Small Business Customer Manager, which ships with the Small Business Tools, is based on a special type of Access 2000 run-time components. During the installation of the Small Business Tools, the Access 2000 run-time components are installed to the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office folder. When you try to install Access 97 on the same computer, it will try to use the same default folder.

When Access 97 is installed, the Setup program checks for existing programs. When it finds the Access 2000 version of Msaccess.exe, it does not install the Access 97 version because newer versions of files are not overwritten during installation. By renaming the existing Access 2000 run-time components, and then installing Access 97 to a different folder, you can circumvent this file checking and have Access 97 successfully installed on the computer.


REFERENCES

For additional information about running multiple versions of Microsoft Office, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q218861 OFF2000: Running Multiple Versions of Microsoft Office
The following article describes a similar issue that results in the same error message:
Q235280 ACC2000: "Can't find the database you specified" Error When Starting Access 97 After Upgrade to Office 2000

Additional query words: pra 


Keywords          : kbdta DTIR 
Version           : WINDOWS:2000
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: July 28, 1999