How to Repair Corrupt Macros in Access?

Macros in MS Access eliminate the need to write VBA code to automate Access database tasks like opening a form, running or printing reports, etc. However, if macros get corrupted or damaged, they may prevent you from opening the database files (.ACCDB/.MDB). In case you’re able to access the database, the macros may appear as empty.

Workarounds to Repair Corrupt Macros in Access

Following are some workarounds you can try to repair macros in Access:

Workaround 1 – Compact and Repair the Database

Sometimes, compacting and repairing an Access database can help resolve corruption issues. The steps to compact and repair the database varies based on whether you can open the database or not.

Note: Make sure to take a backup of the database before compacting and repairing it.

Steps to Repair an Open Access Database

• In Access database, click File and then select Info.
• Click on the Compact and Repair Database option.

Performing these steps will create a copy of the compacted and repaired db.

Steps to Repair an Inaccessible Database

• Open a blank database by double-clicking on the Blank desktop database option.

• Click the File tab and select Close.

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

• Browse the database that you want to compact and repair in the ‘Database to Compact From’ dialog box.
  

You can find a copy of the compacted and repaired Access database in the same location as the original database.

Read this: Compact and Repair Access Database is not working – How to Fix It

Workaround 2 – Import Macros into a New Database

Try importing problematic macros from the existing database file to a new database file by following these steps:

• Open your MS Access application and click the Blank desktop database option.
• In the ‘Blank desktop database’, enter the database name and then click Create.

• When the Access database window opens, click on the EXTERNAL DATA tab and then click Access from the ‘Import & Link’ menu.

• In the ‘Get External Data’ window, do the following:

• Browse and select the database file from where you want to import macros into the current database.
• Select the “Import tables, queries, forms, reports, macros, and modules into the current database” option.
• Click OK.

• Select all or specific macros that you want to import in ‘Import Objects’ dialog box and then click OK.

• Click Close when the ‘all objects were imported successfully’ message appears.

Note: Click ‘Save import steps’ if you would like to run the import operation in Access without using the wizard.

You can continue working with macros in the new database.

Note: The same steps can be used to restore other Access database objects such as tables, queries, forms, and modules.

What If Nothing Works?

If you are unable to repair macros in Access or can’t access ACCDB or MDB database file, try using an Access repair tool, such as Stellar Repair for Access to repair macros and restore the database file. The tool also helps recover all the database objects, like forms, reports, queries, etc. in a few simple steps.

Key Features of Stellar Repair for Access Software

• Repairs corrupt Access database ACCDB/MDB files
• Recovers all database objects to a new database
• Can resolve all types of common Access database corruption errors, like Access ‘Unrecognized Database Format Error’, ‘Database ‘filename.mdb’ needs to be repaired or isn’t a database file’, etc.
• Supports MS Access 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, and lower versions.

Check out this video to know how the software works:

Conclusion

If you’re having trouble accessing macros or opening your ACCDB or MDB file, try the manual workarounds discussed in this blog to resolve the problem. You may try to import the problematic macros into a new file or compact and repair the database to resolve the issues with your macros. However, troubleshooting the issue manually can take time and may result in data integrity issue. Try using Stellar Repair for Access software to repair your corrupted database file, its macros, and other objects without losing any data.

Also read: How to Fix Microsoft Access Database Error 2950?

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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.