Uninstalling Microsoft Access or Microsoft Office removes the System.mdw file and the sample databases (224533)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Access 2000
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Premium
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Professoinal
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Standard
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Developer
  • Microsoft Excel 2000
  • Microsoft FrontPage 2000
  • Microsoft Outlook 2000
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2000
  • Microsoft Word 2000
This article was previously published under Q224533
Moderate: Requires basic macro, coding, and interoperability skills.

This article applies to a Microsoft Access database (.mdb) and to a Microsoft Access project (.adp).

SYMPTOMS

When you uninstall Microsoft Access or Microsoft Office, the System.mdw file and the sample databases are removed, even if you have made changes to these files.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain Microsoft Office 2000 Service Release 1/1a (SR-1/SR-1a).

To obtain SR-1/SR-1a, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

245025 OFF2000: How to Obtain and Install the Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1/SR-1a Update

Microsoft Office 2000 SR1 resolves the issue of the System.mdw being removed when you uninstall Microsoft Access. However, the Northwind sample database will still be removed.

WORKAROUND

To temporarily work around this problem, before you uninstall Microsoft Access or Office, make a backup of the System.mdw file and of any sample databases that you modified.

You must use the same Name, Organization, and Workgroup ID if you already uninstalled Microsoft Access or Office and you need to re-create the System.mdw file.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1/SR-1a.

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft Access uses the System.mdw file to store security information about Microsoft Access databases. Microsoft Access projects do not store security information in the System.mdw file.

The following sample databases are removed. The default location for these databases is in the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Samples folder:

Addrbook.mdb
Contact.mdb
Inventry.mdb
Northwind.mdb
NorthwindCS.adp

Steps to Reproduce the Problem

  1. After installing Microsoft Access, verify that there is only one System.mdw file on the hard disk. By default, it is located in the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office folder.
  2. Open the sample database Northwind.mdb.
  3. Make a copy of the Employees table.
  4. On the Tools menu, point to Security, and then click User and Group Accounts. Create a new user and give a password to the Admin account.
  5. Close Microsoft Access.
  6. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
  7. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.
  8. In the Add/Remove Program Properties dialog box, click the Install/Uninstall tab, and click Microsoft Office 2000 in the program list. Click Add/Remove.
  9. Click Add or Remove Features.
  10. Click the plus signs (+) until you see a tree structure such as the following:
       Microsoft Office
      Microsoft Access for Windows
  11. For Microsoft Access for Windows, click Not Available, and then click Update Now.

    Note that the System.mdw file and the sample database Northwind.mdb are no longer on the hard disk.

REFERENCES

For more information about the System.mdw file, click Microsoft Access Help on the Help menu, type work with a workgroup information file in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/13/2006
Keywords:kbDatabase kbnofix kbprb KB224533
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.