While working in MS Access I set a password on one of my files.  Unknown to me- the password has locked all of my database files, even those totally unrelated.  I only use 4 or 5 different passwords for all my different things, but none has opened up the locked database files.  There is a possibilty I may have made a typing error when entering the password.   With a typing error there could be thousands of combinations available on the passwords.   Microsoft warns that the password will not be encrypted and for real security you should not use their locking system.   HMMM  that tells me their password may be somewhere in a file in plain sight for me to find.  Any Access users our there who can help a brother?  

Jack Bauer would extract the password from your computer with a mean look.

I've never used Access but here is a trick that I use with Word docs ... maybe you can do a similar thing with Access?

I get a lot of locked Word docs at work.  People want to prevent editing. Well, part of my job is revising legal docs so those locked docs really put me out.  They're essentially trying to prevent me from doing my job.

I found an easy way to circumvent password protected Word docs:

1.  Open the doc and then save it as a previous version of Word document.  Like if you're using Word 2000, save it as a Word for Windows 2.0 document.  If that doesn't work (it doesn't always) use a older version of Word or even Word Perfect ... Wordperfect 5.1 is a good one.

Saving the doc as an older version of Word/WP usually strips away the password protection.  The problem is that if the doc has a lot of fancy formatting (e.g. pictures, bullets, tables) those might get messed up.  But it's sure faster than re-typing the entire document.

Once you save the doc as an older version, re-open it with Word and save it as a regular Word doc.  At that point, your doc should be unprotected.

2.  Open the doc using WordPad and then re-save as a different file name.  Again, the formatting might be messed up but the password protection is gone.  Also, the product will be an RTF file, not a Word doc ... but it's often not an issue.

I don't know if you can do the same thing with Access, but good luck!

Whats your ip and I'll find it for you.


Google  password finder, it'll retrieve your password.

Now I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, how is knowing my internet service provider going to help?  Or, are you asking me for something else?

If I remember correctly, there should be 2 files associated with the database in question:

1.  *filename.MDB
2.  *filename.LDB


The second file is the lock on the actual database.  First, make a copy of both files to another location.

Secondly, delete the LDB file and see if then you can open your database.  


When you refer to "files", are you actually talking about separate databases?  Or tables within a single database?  When you lock any table/query/form in a database, you have locked that entire database.

Bubblehead597- Thanks for the reply- I am talking separate databases with different names.  This has locked up my entire Access program as far as opening 5 different databases.  Thanks for the heads up on the filename ext of .LDB- I think it is a temp file created when Access attempts to open a database but I will investigate further.  I have brought the affected files to another computer with Access on it and have no difficulty opening the files.  I think something has been written to my other Access program on the other computer which locks everything.  Back to the drawing board!  

try typing your passwords with caps lock on.

Caps lock was my first attempt.  That's the easiest mistake.  Thanks for the reply

www.crackpassword.com/products/prs/msoffice/access/

maybe the demo version of that?

I had to reset the password on my computer the other day.  Unknown to me, one of the keys on my keyboard had broken.  If you do a google search on something like "windows nt password reset" (no quotes) you'll find sites dealing with the problem, both for the OS and for various utilities like Word and Access.

You can buy commercial programs to unlock passwords on most of these.  (The NT/2K/XP utility is freely downloadable from some Norwegian guy's site.  It uses a Linux kernel on a bootable CD.  I just thought that was funny enough to mention.)  You might also be able to find some freeware that will work if you dig long enough.

The exception is the NTFS filesystem when encryption is turned on in the OS.  So far, I haven't heard of anyone coming up with a way to break that security down.

Ok, that clears it up a bit for me.  Now you are on 2000, and I am looking at 2003.  Can you define administrators and workgroups/users in 2000?

Is it possible you changed the login password for a user/group?  Grasping at straws here now, but that seems to be the only way you can lock all databases is through the admistrator options under "tools\security" options.

??

Bubblehead97- Yes that is exactly what I have done.  I manage databases for my vol fire company.  I think the computer system has Access 2003 on it, same as my home computer.  They are concerned with SS# and medical history privacy issues on the databases.  In an attempt to see what level I could get into the databases with a password set, I made a mistake of some kind entering my password.  Yes, I was in the login password section, probably as administrator because I'm the only one who uses the computer in question.  As I recall, the top database field was empty (I've never put a password in before this), I entered a password in the second box, typed a confirming password in the third box and then closed the database.  On restarting the database, I was unable to enter the proper password and found that all my 5 databases were now locked!  Oh boy...... I really feel like a