BUG: You receive a "The database has been placed in a state by user..." error message when you open a database containing a form that has a subform in Access 2000 (248967)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Access 2000
This article was previously published under Q248967
Moderate: Requires basic macro, coding, and interoperability skills.

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

SYMPTOMS

When a form is open in a database, and if that form has a control on it that references a subform control, when you try to open a second instance of the database, you may receive the following error message:
The database has been placed in a state by user 'username' on machine 'machinename' that prevents it from being opened or locked.

CAUSE

This problem can occur when the following three conditions are true:
  • A form contains a subform.
  • A control on the main form references one of the controls on the subform.
  • The form is open in a single instance of the database.
If these conditions are true, and you then try to open a second instance of the database, you receive the error message described in the "Symptoms" section.

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 Microsoft Office 2000 Service Release 1/1a (SR-1/SR-1a)

To temporarily work around this problem, leave one instance of the database that does not have the problem form open running at all times. In this way, there is never one copy of the database left open that has the problem form open.

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

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

  1. Open the sample database Northwind.mdb.

    IMPORTANT: Do not open the database exclusively, and make sure the database has not already been opened by you or another user.
  2. Open the Orders form in Form view.
  3. With the Orders form still open, start a second instance of Access.
  4. In the second instance of Access, open the sample database Northwind.mdb again.
Note that you receive the error message mentioned in the "Symptoms" section.

NOTE: The problem occurs in this case because the Orders form contains a control that is named Subtotal, which refers to a control that is named OrderSubtotal in the subfrom as follows:

Control Source: =[Orders Subform].Form![OrderSubtotal]

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:7/29/2004
Keywords:kbopenfile kbbug kberrmsg kbpending KB248967
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