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Q257780: FIX:Unrecognized Database Format, Data Control or Data Form Wiz

Article: Q257780
Product(s): Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows
Version(s): 6.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbCtrl kbDatabase kbDataBinding kbJET kbMDAC kbVBp600bug kbGrpDSVBDB kbGrpDSMDAC kbDSup
Last Modified: 14-NOV-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows, version 6.0 
- Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows, version 6.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

When you attempt to connect to a Microsoft Access 2000 database by using either
the standard Data control or the Data Form Wizard, you see the following error
message where '...\databasename.mdb' is the absolute filename of the Access 2000
database:

  Unrecognized database format '...\databasename.mdb'"

CAUSE
=====

The standard Data control uses Data Access Object (DAO) 3.51 to connect to
Access databases by using the Jet 3.51 engine.

The Data Form Wizard uses the Jet 3.51 OLE DB Provider to connect to Access
databases by using the Jet 3.51 engine.

The Jet 3.51 engine can connect to Access database versions prior to Access 2000,
but cannot connect to Access 2000 databases.

RESOLUTION
==========

These problems are not seen with the Data control and Data Form Wizard that ship
with Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 Service Pack 4 and later. (If you are using the
Data Control, you must take the additional step of changing its Connect property
to Access 2000.)

Prior to service pack 4 for Visual Studio 6.0, the workaround for the standard
Data control problem was to open a Recordset using DAO code, and then assign it
to the Data control's Recordset. This workaround is described in Microsoft
Knowledge Base article Q238401 in the "References" section.

Prior to service pack 4 for Visual Studio 6.0, the workarounds for the Data Form
Wizard problem were:

- Open the Access database through an ODBC DSN that uses the Access ODBC driver
  version 4.0.

- Build the form manually using Jet 4.0 to connect to the database.

See these workarounds in the Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q242010 in the
"References" section.

NOTE: There are known issues when connecting to Access 2000 on certain localized
versions of Visual Basic 6.0 Service Pack 4. This is scheduled to be fixed in
Visual Basic 6.0 Service Pack 5. However, this bug is fixed for the English
version (North America) of Visual Basic 6.0 Service Pack 4.


STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a bug in the Microsoft products that are
listed at the beginning of this article. This bug was corrected in the latest
service pack for Visual Studio 6.0.

For additional information about Visual Studio service packs, click the following
article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q194022 INFO: Visual Studio 6.0 Service Packs, What, Where, Why

  Q194295 HOWTO: Tell That a Visual Studio Service Pack Is Installed

To download the latest Visual Studio service pack, visit the following Microsoft
Web site:

  http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/downloads/updates.asp

MORE INFORMATION
================

STEPS TO REPRODUCE USING THE STANDARD DATA CONTROL

1. In Visual Basic, create a new Standard EXE project. Project1 is created by
  default. Form1 is added by default.

2. Place a Data control onto Form1. Data1 is created by default.

3. Set the DatabaseName property of the Data control to an Access 2000 database.

4. Attempt to set the RecordSource property of the Data control by clicking the
  drop-down list, and note that the error message in the "Symptoms" section
  appears.

STEPS TO REPRODUCE USING THE DATA FORM WIZARD

1. In Visual Basic, create a new Standard EXE project. Project1 is created by
  default. Form1 is added by default.

2. If the Data Form Wizard is not listed in Add-Ins menu, do the following:

  a. From the Add-Ins menu, select Add-In Manager.

  b. In the list of Available Add-Ins, select Data Form Wizard.

  c. Click to check the Loaded/Unloaded checkbox.

  d. Click OK, and note that the Data Form Wizard is now on the Add-Ins menu.

3. From the Add-Ins menu, select Data Form Wizard.

  a. At the Introduction screen, click Next.

  b. At the Database Type screen, select Access, and then click Next.

  c. On the Database screen, click Browse, navigate to your Access database,
     and then click Open. When you click Next, the error message in the
     "Symptoms" section is displayed.

REFERENCES
==========

  Q238401 PRB: Unrecognized Database Format Error Upgrading to Access 2000

  Q242010 PRB:The Data Form Wizard May Not Open an Access 2000 Database

Additional query words: sp4

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbCtrl kbDatabase kbDataBinding kbJET kbMDAC kbVBp600bug kbGrpDSVBDB kbGrpDSMDAC kbDSupport kbDAO360 kbMDAC250 kbVS600sp4fix kbVS600sp5fix 
Technology        : kbVBSearch kbAudDeveloper kbZNotKeyword6 kbZNotKeyword2 kbVB600Search kbVB600
Version           : :6.0
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbfix

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