Access Database Repair

Fix MS Access Error 3049: Cannot Open Database

Written By Priyanka Chauhan
Approved By Kuljeet Singh
Updated on 4 Jul, 2024
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Summary: The blog outlines reasons that may result in ‘MS Access Error 3049 – cannot open database’ issue. It also describes some manual methods to fix the error such as using the MS Access built-in compact and repair utility, and Windows built-in drive tool to repair the ACCDB or MDB database files. Plus, you can try recovery tricks like importing data into a new database or restoring a backup to salvage data from corrupt file. The article also discusses how Stellar Repair for Access software can help fix the issue when the manual methods fail.

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Sometimes, when importing data, running an action query, or adding new records in MS Access, you may encounter Runtime Error 3049 along with the following message:

“Cannot open database. It may not be a database that your application recognizes, or the file may be corrupt.”

To find the correct solution to fix “Access Error 3049”, it is important to know the actual reasons behind it.

Reasons Behind the “Cannot Open Database” Error in MS Access

As you may know, Microsoft Access 2007 and higher versions by default create databases in ACCDB file format. MS Access 2003 and earlier versions create db in MDB file format. If you can’t open the ACCDB or MDB file, the file has likely turned corrupt resulting in the “Cannot open database” error.

Access database file corruption may occur due to the following reasons:

The access database size limit has reached or exceeded 2 GB.
Hardware or software inconsistencies and conflicts.
File damage due to storage of large volume data.
Unintentional deletion of data or storage media format.
Damaged structure or header of an ACCDB file.
Incompatibility of the file created in Access 2003 or earlier versions.
The database is restored from an invalid backup.

Ways to Fix the “Cannot Open Database” Error in MS Access

Following are some methods to fix MS Access cannot open database error:

NOTE: Attempting to repair the corrupt Access database manually may cause further corruption, leading to permanent data loss. So, make sure to create a backup copy of the database, even if it is in a corrupt state before performing any manual method.

Method 1 – Run Access Compact and Repair Utility

If you are receiving the error message “Cannot open database. It may not be a database that your application recognizes, or the file may be corrupt.”, check if the database has reached or exceeded the 2 GB limit. If so, running MS Access’s built-in “Compact and Repair” utility may help.

To Run the ‘Compact and Repair’ utility, follow these steps:

Open the MS Access application.
In the window that pops up, double-click Blank desktop database.

Click on 'Blank desktop database' — Blank desktop database

Go to File, and then click on Close.

Navigate to File Menu and close the current file by clicking Close. — Select Close

In the window that appears, click Database Tools, and then choose Compact and Repair Database on the Tools menu.

Go to 'Database Tools' and select 'Compact and Repair Database' — Compact and Repair Database

In the “Database to Compact From” dialog box, find and select the database you want to compact and repair.

In the 'Database to Compact From' dialog box, locate and choose the database you wish to compact and repair. — Database to Compact From Dialog Box

Open the copy of the compacted and repaired database. The copy will be saved in the same location as your previously saved original database.

Also Read: Repair access database when compact and repair did not work

Method 2 – Import Everything into a New Database

Attempt to import and restore data from the corrupt db into a new Access database. To do so, follow these steps:

Create a new database file, by clicking Blank desktop database (refer to Figure 2).
Click the External Data tab, and select Access on the Import & Link menu.

Under the External Data tab and choose Access from the Import & Link menu. — External Data Option

In the Get External Data – Access Database dialog box, browse the source (i.e. corrupt) db.

In the 'Get External Data – Access Database' dialog box, navigate to and select the corrupt database. — Get External Data

Click on OK.
In the Import Objects dialog box, click the tab depending on the objects you want to restore. For instance, choose ‘Forms’ to import forms from the source db into the new one.

NOTE: Click the ‘Select All’ button if you wish to restore all the objects.

Navigate the 'Import Objects' dialog box and select the tab associated with the objects you intend to restore. — Import Objects Window

Click OK to finish importing the selected objects into the new database.

Method 3 – Use Windows Built-in Drive Tool

If you cannot compact and repair the Access database or have failed to import data into a blank db, using the Windows built-in drive tool may help. The tool can help repair corrupt databases and deal with errors such as “Cannot open database, the file may be corrupt”.

Here’s how you can use the drive tool to repair a corrupt access database:

Open File Explorer, and navigate to the following location- C:\Windows\SysWOW64
In the window that appears, search for odbcad32.exe file.
Double-click on odbcad32.

Locate the odbcad32.exe file and initiate it by double-clicking. — Select odbcad32

The ODBC Data Source Administrator (32-bit) window will be displayed. From DSN, select MS Access Database under Name, and then click Add.

In the ODBC Data Source Administrator (32-bit) window. Under DSN, choose 'MS Access Database' for Name, and proceed by clicking the 'Add' button. — ODBC Data Source Administrator (32-bit) Window

In the “Create New Data Source” window, select ’Driver do Microsoft Access (*mdb), and then click Finish.

In the 'Create New Data Source' window, opt for 'Microsoft Access Driver (*mdb)', and finalize the process by clicking 'Finish'. — Create New Data Source

In the ODBC Microsoft Access Setup dialog box, click Repair.

NOTE: Click ‘Select’ under Database to choose the type of database (.mdb or .accdb) file you want to repair.

Within the ODBC Microsoft Access Setup dialog box, initiate the repair process by clicking on the 'Repair' option — ODBC Microsoft Access Setup Dialog Box

From the Repair Database window, select the drive followed by the folder in which the corrupt MDB file is stored. Click OK.

Select Database window to specify the drive and folder containing the corrupt MDB file — Repair Database Window

If the repair is successful, you will receive a message saying the database was successfully repaired.

'Database was repaired successfully' message box. — Database Successfully Repaired Message

Click OK and check if you can open the db.

Method 4 – Convert Access MDB File to ACCDB

NOTE: This method only applies to users using an Access database in MDB file format.

Access offers a manual procedure that can help export data from MDB file format to ACCDB format, to view the incorporated content. To get started, it is imperative to close all programs and files associated with MS Access.

Perform the following steps to convert MDB file to ACCDB file format:

Open MS Access, click the File Menu, and then click on Open.

In the File Menu, click on the Open option. — Access Database Open Window

In the Open dialog box that appears, open the Access MDB file that needs to be converted to the ACCDB file format.

Select the MDB file to convert to ACCDB file format. — Open Dialog Box

Under the Database File Types, click Access Database (*.accdb).

Within the Database File Types, choose 'Access Database (*.accdb)' by clicking on the specified option. — Save Database As Option

Click Save & Publish.

If any of the Access database objects are open at this stage, the application will prompt you to close them first and then proceed. Click ‘Yes’ to instruct the application to close the object or alternatively click ‘No’ if you want to cancel the entire conversion process. Access will then prompt to save the changes being made recently (if any).

Next, provide a name to the converted file in the File name field, and then click Save.

A copy of the database will be created and opened by the application. The original database will be automatically closed by MS Access.

Also read: How to Backup and Restore Access Database?

What If Nothing Works?

If none of the above methods helps fix Access Error 3049, you can try restoring the last known good backup copy of the database.

In case nothing works and backup is also not available, use Stellar Repair for Access to resolve the issue. The Access repair software helps repair and recover Access database (ACCDB and MDB) files. It also helps retrieve all deleted, formatted, or lost data from the database file.

Here’s a video to help you understand how Stellar Repair for Access software can be used to repair corrupt database files.

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About The Author

Priyanka Chauhan

Priyanka is a technology expert working for key technology domains that revolve around Data Recovery and related software's. She got expertise on related subjects like SQL Database, Access Database, QuickBooks, and Microsoft Excel. Loves to write on different technology and data recovery subjects on regular basis. Technology freak who always found exploring neo-tech subjects, when not writing, research is something that keeps her going in life.

20 comments

Dennisgar says:

May 8, 2019 at 10:13 pm

It would be great if your team can share a “How to Video Guide” to repair damaged MS Access files. URGENT!

Reply
Margaret F. Barr says:

March 11, 2019 at 5:01 pm

Hello,

I am using MS Office 2019 ProPlus and I am new to Access, but I keep getting this error message constantly when working within Access. I am only trying to create a table from a query, and I get this message. It seems that I am constantly having to redo all my work because at various points, Access is telling me my database is corrupt, it tries to recover it, only to fail. I have to create constant backup copies every few steps just to make sure I don’t loose my work.

I am NEW to Access, but this seems like a bad program if you ask me. Is there anything you think I can do? When I create a Database in Access 2019, it shows Access 2007 – 2016 file format, but I am using 2019. Feeling very frustrated, and I would appreciate any help.

Thanks,
Maggie

Reply
1. Eric Simson says:
  
  March 12, 2019 at 10:03 am
  
  Hello Margaret,
  
  Try Stellar Repair for Access software to repair damaged access database software. If you face any trouble, then contact our tech support team.
  
  Reply
Joe says:

December 5, 2018 at 12:05 am

Funny, my query works with a narrow date range (e.g., 1 month). I get this error when the date range is expanded. Has anyone experienced that and/or have a solution to this puzzling dilemma?

Reply
1. Eric Simson says:
  
  December 5, 2018 at 5:10 am
  
  You should review the database file carefully to eliminate bug/error.
  
  Reply
Samantha says:

May 25, 2018 at 2:09 am

Yesterday, I had faced the same error in MS Access 2016 database. Please guide to fix this error without any data loss!

Reply
1. Eric Simson says:
  
  May 25, 2018 at 6:34 am
  
  Have you tried the methods as mentioned above?
  
  In case of damage in database file structure, you should take the assistance of a third-party access database repair tool.
  
  Reply
Jose says:

February 27, 2018 at 12:21 am

Yesterday, I had encountered this one runtime error while saving MS access database file. But, I am confident that this one guide will be helpful to resolve error quickly.

Reply
1. Eric Simson says:
  
  February 28, 2018 at 4:55 am
  
  Hi Jose,
  
  You should take required action using this one free help guide. In case, you encounter any error, then feel free to call us.
  
  Reply
kiran says:

February 17, 2018 at 4:11 pm

Hi,

I am using MSSQL 2005 with VBA 6.5 and getting this error, is there any way to resolve this issue.

Reply
1. Priyanka Chauhan says:
  
  February 21, 2018 at 5:03 am
  
  Hi Kiran,
  
  As you are using MSSQL so, the error could be related to authentication. To fix this problem:
  
  1. Go to SQL Server
  2. Under Security folder
  3. Select Logins
  4. Right click on NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE
  5. Select Properties
  6. Go to User Mapping
  7. Select the desired database
  8. Choose the role “db_owner”
  9. Click OK
  
  Good Luck!
  
  Reply
Emily Thomas says:

January 10, 2018 at 10:47 am

Now, I have successfully fixed this annoying error with the help of Stellar Repair for Access. Great assistance for non-technical users.

Reply
1. Eric Simson says:
  
  January 11, 2018 at 2:57 am
  
  Hello Emily,
  
  You can also share your feedback on social channels.
  
  Reply
Bob says:

December 27, 2017 at 9:28 pm

I am experiencing these same problems but ONLY after we migrated from Office 2007 to Office 365. Sometimes closing Outlook solves the “System resource exceeded” errors, sometimes rebooting.

Reply
1. Eric Simson says:
  
  December 28, 2017 at 2:40 pm
  
  Hello Bob,
  
  You should try free demo of Stellar Repair for Access software to conduct a depth analysis.
  
  Reply
Chris SNUGGS says:

November 24, 2017 at 6:45 pm

I cannot OPEN MSAccess, so this method is useless. It simply will not open. I get a MS “opening program” circle for half a second, and then nothing.

I recently had an update to AVAST firewall protection. Could THIS be the problem? The settings in AVAST suggest not, but I am suspicious

A) All my version s of MS Access always worked before.

B) All my other programs open …

Reply
1. Eric Simson says:
  
  November 28, 2017 at 3:56 am
  
  Dear Chris
  
  There are following reasons for this:
  
  • It could be the compatibility issue between MS Access and anti-virus program
  • The database is infected by the virus and antivirus program is unable to fix it
  
  I will suggest you disable the firewall and try to open the database. Please share the result after disabling the firewall.
  
  Reply
Jae Easton says:

April 28, 2017 at 8:17 am

I worked whole night to solve the corruption error but it not fixed by manual methods. When I tried to restore from the backup then, got the invalid backup error message.

I asked the question on forums and discussion sites, and many of users suggested me to restore from the backup. When I shared the backup result with a person, he said just pray to God to save your job.

I am very thankful to Stellar Repair for Access software because of this, I fixed the corruption problem successfully, and now the database is working fine.

Reply
1. Jyoti Prakash says:
  
  May 1, 2017 at 3:14 am
  
  Hello Jae,
  
  Thanks for your kind words.
  
  Reply