Access Database Repair

Fix MS Access Error “ID is not an index in this table”

Written By Charanjeet Kaur
Approved By Kuljeet Singh
Updated on 5 Jan, 2024
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Summary: This blog discusses possible reasons causing the Access error “‘Id’ is not an index in this table”. And, it suggests solutions to resolve the error manually or by using an Access repair tool.

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While attempting to open an Access Database, if you encounter an error message that reads: “’Id’ is not an index in this table”, it indicates that your Access Database file has become corrupt.

Error message: "'Id' is not an index in this table" while opening an Access Database signifies database corruption.

Here’s an infographic summarizing the possible reasons behind the Access error and solutions to resolve the error.

What Causes the Access Error “’ID’ is not an index in this table’?

Corruption in an Access database resulting in the index error might occur when:

The database is shared over a network in a multi-user environment; and, a copy of the database is accessed by multiple users simultaneously.
The error message makes reference to the Visual Basic (VB) code. However, it is quite impossible to access the VB editor to check the real cause of the interruption.
Different versions of the application (Access Database) are used over the network by different users. There are systems running Access 2007 and systems that are running Access 2010.

How to Repair your Corrupt Access Database File?

After you encounter the MS Access error message “‘Id’ is not an index in this table”, try to Compact and Repair Access Database. If this doesn’t work, try the following solutions:

Solution 1 – Export Objects to a New Database

If the error persists, check if you can open the corrupted Access database. If its opens, use the export tool built-in into your MS Access application to export every object of the corrupted database to a new Access database manually. The steps to export the objects into a new database are as follows:

Create a New blank database
Manually export each database object from old to new DB
Recreate the required relationships between tables in the database

Note: If your database is large and complicated then, it could be time-consuming to import the DB objects manually. In this case, you can go with the next solution.

Solution 2 – Use Access Repair Software

Try using Access Database Repair software such as Stellar Repair for Access to fix your corrupted database (.MDB/.ACCDB) file that might have resulted in the “’Id’ is not an index in this table” error. The software can repair database files of Access version 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, and earlier versions. Also, it helps restore all the database objects like tables, indexes, queries, relations. It even provides a preview of all the recoverable data, including deleted records, forms, reports, macros, etc. to help the users validate data accuracy before saving it.

Steps to repair a corrupted Access database are as follows:

Let’s look at how we can fix the Access Database error: “ID is not an index in this table” using this software:

Download Stellar Repair for Access software.

Select the database by using ‘Browse’ or ‘Find’ option.

Choose the database by utilizing the 'Browse' or 'Find' option.

Once the file is selected, click the ‘Repair’ button to begin the database repair process.

Initiate the database repair process by clicking the 'Repair' button after selecting the file.

The software shows progress of the repair process.
Once the repair is completed, a message box which reads: ‘Selected MS Access database repaired successfully’ will appear. Click ‘OK’.

Monitor the repair progress through the software interface; upon completion, an alert will confirm the successful repair of the selected MS Access database with a message box prompting you to click 'OK'.

6. You can preview the contents of the selected database, including tables, deleted records, forms, reports, macros, etc. You can select single or multiple items for recovery.

Preview the contents of the chosen database, including tables, deleted records, forms, reports, macros, and more. Opt to recover individual or multiple items as needed.

You can preview the contents of the selected database. You can select single or multiple items for recovery.

Preview contents of the selected database and choose single or multiple items for recovery

Once the repair procedure is completed, the tool will ask for a storage location to save the recovered items. You can select to store data at the same location where the original ACCDB file is located or in a new folder.

After completing the repair procedure, the tool prompts you to choose a storage location for saving the recovered items. Opt to store data in the original ACCDB file location or select a new folder.

Click ‘OK’ to complete the procedure to resolve the error message.

Watch the full video to repair ‘id’ is not an index error using Stellar Repair for Access.

Wrapping Up

Databases storing sensitive data are prone to get attacked by malicious users, which can turn the database corrupt. Also, factors like hardware failure, a software bug, etc. can damage an Access database and cause data loss. So, ensure to plan a recovery strategy in advance to avoid adverse circumstances. But if your Access database gets corrupted and data is lost, consider using Stellar Repair for Access software for quick and easy recovery of the data.

You might also be interested in:

How to fix Access Database Error: ‘Database needs to be repaired’?

Reasons for a failed table export in MS Access 2000 and it’s fixes

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About The Author

Charanjeet Kaur

Charanjeet is a Technical Content Writer at Stellar®who specializes in writing about databases, e-mail recovery, and e-mail migration solutions. She loves researching and developing content that helps database administrators, organizations and novices to fix multiple problems related to MS SQL and MySQL databases and Microsoft Exchange.

26 comments

Eloy says:

January 23, 2021 at 4:10 pm

I’m struggling with ID issues in MS Access for the last 7 days. I was lost my hope to get it fixed manually. But, this free guide encouraged me to set up troubleshooting tips manually. Let’s see what will happens!

Reply
1. Eric Simson says:
  
  January 28, 2021 at 3:51 am
  
  Hi Eloy,
  Please try the above-listed solutions and let us know if you need any help.
  
  Reply
Scott says:

May 25, 2018 at 2:25 am

My access reports an error message:
“an invalid index name was used when trying to reference an index.”

Please suggest!

Reply
1. Eric Simson says:
  
  May 25, 2018 at 4:04 am
  
  Hi Scott,
  
  Don’t Worry!
  
  To fix this error, you can try Stellar Repair for Access tool. If you want to explore the database repair process, then try its free demo downloadable from:
  Download Link
  
  Reply
Connor says:

May 17, 2018 at 7:01 am

This error “not an index in this table. (error 3800)” is responsible for halting our work since Monday. I hope, this guide will play a key role to resolve this error efficiently.

Reply
1. Eric Simson says:
  
  May 17, 2018 at 7:06 am
  
  Good!
  
  Try suggested tips to get rid of this error.
  
  Reply
Nancy says:

November 20, 2017 at 1:14 am

Can I fix this error using access repair software?

Reply
1. Eric Simson says:
  
  November 21, 2017 at 6:52 am
  
  Try free demo to find out the feasibility of access database file recovery.
  
  Reply
Nelson says:

July 18, 2017 at 4:50 am

Hi Jyoti!
Importing the objects from the corrupt database to the newly created one did the magic!
I guess it worked because my corrupt .accdb was quite small in size and had about 45-50 objects.

Reply
1. Jyoti Prakash says:
  
  July 19, 2017 at 6:39 am
  
  Dear Nelson,
  
  It’s good to know that, you have fixed the issue. If you have any query regarding this error then, feel free to ask here.
  
  Keep Reading!
  
  Reply
Ayden says:

July 5, 2017 at 3:17 am

Yes, I fixed the error.

Reply
1. Jyoti Prakash says:
  
  July 5, 2017 at 3:32 am
  
  Hello Ayden,
  
  It’s good to know that you have fixed the error.
  
  Keep reading!
  
  Reply
LearningAccess says:

March 30, 2017 at 7:52 pm

you need to refresh the table by right-clicking the applicable table(s) > more options > refresh list.
This will refresh the indices in the background and update the relationship.

I personally only experienced this error when users were saving the database to their computer directly versus opening it from the attachment.

Reply
1. Jyoti Prakash says:
  
  March 31, 2017 at 9:52 am
  
  Thanks for sharing this information.
  
  Reply
Nancy says:

March 29, 2017 at 5:04 am

I fixed the error.

Reply