Methods to Repair Access Database That is in an Inconsistent State

Bob Maria | Updated On - May 19, 2023 |

Read time: 3 minutes

When MS Access is in an Inconsistent State, it blocks the further working of Access Database. The complete error message is displayed as,
“Microsoft Access has detected that this database is in an inconsistent state, and will attempt to recover the database. During this process, a backup copy of the database will be made and all recovered objects will be placed in a new database. Access will then open the new database. The names of objects that were not successfully recovered will be logged in the “Recovery Errors” table.”

Once this error appears, you will not be able to access the database till this issue is resolved. The most common reason for database in an inconsistent state is when the Access database file is shared to everyone. The file is prone to corruption e\when multiple users open it. Database files in MDB format are unsplit and includes all forms, modules, reports; in single file. this sometimes causes inconsistent error.

In this article we shall discuss some troubleshooting methods to solve Access Database Inconsistent Error.

Method: 1 Run compact and repair utility

Microsoft Access has an inbuilt utility repair software, Compact and Repair Utility. This feature compacts the database by removing the deleted space which is stored in the database and it also repairs the database.

• Close all the shared databases.
• Open Microsoft Access and click “Blank desktop database’ to create new database.
• Under the new database window, click on File and then select Close.
• In the pop-up box, from Database Tools tab, select Compact and Repair.
• In the Database to Compact Form dialogue box, browse and select the database you wish to compact, repair and store to the new location.

Before starting this method, ensure that nobody is using the database as the compare and utility will not work. You can use the utility to repair the database when the application is unable to access database and its data.

• Right click on Desktop screen and click on New. Then click on Shortcut.
• Under Create Shortcut dialogue box, type the location of Access.exe file in double quotes. Type the command in the following manner:

“C: \pathtoAccess\msaccess.exe” “C:\pathtodatabase\database.mdb” /repair.
In the above command replace ‘pathtoAccess’ and pathtodatabase with the actual path of the Access folder.

This method is applicable for Access 2019, 2016, 2013, and Access for MS Office 365.

• From Windows Start option, type Command. Right click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
• Copy and paste the following statement in the command prompt window:

REG ADD HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanserver\parameters /v DisableLeasing /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f NET STOP SERVER NET START SERVER

• Exit the command prompt window. Now open the Access Database.

• Open MS Access and create a new database.
• From the ribbon, select Access to import Access database under the External Data tab.
• Click on Browse option and locate the database file that needs to be imported.
• Check on the radio button, ‘Import tables, forms, reports, macros, and modules into the current database.’. click OK.
• Under the Import Objects dialogue box, select the database objects to be imported in the new database. click OK.

If all the above-mentioned techniques do not work then the last and the most trusted option is to use professional tool to repair inconsistent state in database file. Kernel for Access Database Repair is an expert tool that repairs and restores corrupt and damaged Access Database without any data loss. It recovers all the deleted files and records along with data structures, auto-numbers, primary keys, OLE data, tables etc.

Summary

This article briefly describes the workaround to fix Access Database in an Inconsistent State. The most immediate solution is to use Compact and Repair Utility and if that does not work that looking for best access repair software. Kernel for Access Database Repair works wonders when it comes to repairing the files without any data loss.