ACC2: No Permission for Utility.mda When Starting Microsoft Access

ID: Q174025

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

Moderate: Requires basic macro, coding, and interoperability skills.

When you start Microsoft Access version 2.0, you may receive the following error message:

No permission for '<path>\UTILITY.MDA'

This article assumes that you are familiar with Access Basic and with creating Microsoft Access applications using the programming tools provided with Microsoft Access. For more information about Access Basic, please refer to the "Building Applications" manual.


CAUSE

You have run an Access Basic procedure that removed the Admin user from both the Admins and Users group. Note that if you try to do this through the user interface instead of through code, you receive the following error message:

Can't remove user from group 'Users.'


RESOLUTION

Quit Microsoft Access. In Windows Explorer or Windows File Manager, copy the current System.mda file into System.old. Then run Wrkgadm.exe and create a new System.mda file. You should now be able to start Microsoft Access.

To prevent this problem from occurring, follow these steps:

  1. Start Microsoft Access and open any database.


  2. On the Security menu, click Change Password. Assign a password to the Admin user account. The following procedure assumes that you have changed the Admin user's password to "password" (without the quotation marks).


  3. Create a new module and type the following procedure: 
    
      Sub sectest ()

         Dim ws As WorkSpace
         Dim usr As User
         Dim grp As Group
         On Error GoTo Errorhandler
         Set ws = dbengine.CreateWorkspace("", "admin", "password")
         ' Create user NewAdmin and add to Admins group.
         Set usr = ws.CreateUser("NewAdmin", "xxx555", "identify")
         ws.users.Append usr
         usr.groups.Append ws.CreateGroup("admins")

         ' Remove Admin from Admins, Users group.
         ws.groups("users").users.Delete "admin"
         ws.groups("admins").users.Delete "admin"

         ' Log on again and add NewAdmin to Users group.
         ws.Close
         Set ws = dbengine.CreateWorkspace("", "NewAdmin", "identify")
         Set usr = ws.users("NewAdmin")
         usr.groups.Append ws.CreateGroup("users")

      Exit_sectest:
         Exit sub

      Errorhandler:
         Msgbox CStr(Err) & " " & Error(Err)
         Resume Exit_sectest

      End Sub


  4. Run this procedure and quit Microsoft Access.


  5. Restart Microsoft Access; enter "NewAdmin" as the log on name and "identify" as the log on password.



MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce Behavior


  1. In Windows Explorer or Windows File Manager, copy the current System.mda file into System.bak.


  2. Start Microsoft Access and open a new database.


  3. Open a new module and type the following code: 
    
      Sub sectest ()
         Dim ws As WorkSpace
         Dim usr As User
         Dim grp As Group
         On Error GoTo Errorhandler
         ' Create user NewAdmin and add to Admins group.
         Set ws = dbengine.CreateWorkspace("", "admin", "")
         Set usr = ws.CreateUser("NewAdmin", "xxx555", "identify")
         ws.users.Append usr
         usr.groups.Append ws.CreateGroup("admins")

         ' Remove Admin from Admins, Users group.
         ws.groups("users").users.Delete "admin"
         ws.groups("admins").users.Delete "admin"
         ws.Close

         Exit_sectest:
            Exit sub

         Errorhandler:
            Msgbox CStr(Err) & " " & Error(Err)
            Resume Exit_sectest
      End Sub


  4. Close the database and quit Microsoft Access.


Note that when you attempt to restart Microsoft Access, you receive the error described in the "Symptoms" section.


REFERENCES

For more information, see Microsoft Access "Building Applications," version 2.0, Chapter 14, "Securing Your Applications," pages 340-344.

Additional query words: can't cannot start 


Keywords          : kberrmsg ScrtOthr ScrtUsr 
Version           : WINDOWS:2.0
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: April 26, 1999