Access 97 Frontend - SQL Server 2005 Backend Linked Table Error

Question

I have a legacy Access 97 Frontend application which utilises a SQL Server 2005 backend over a SQL Server ODBC Driver (Connection), we use the Linked Table feature on this setup.

I create, amend and link in tables on a daily basis and I am aware of the conversions that occur between the different data types.

There seems to be an issue with one table that I recently created, it has exactly the same setup and permissions as many of the other tables in the database but once I link it into Access 97 it seems to show #NAME in all columns and I also receive an ' ODBC Call Failed ' error.

If I remove the Primary Key from the table and do not select a 'Unique Record Identifier' then I am able to view the data in the table but I obviously can't edit it.

There are 3 columns which are VARCHAR's and are over 255, if I reduce these columns to 255 or less I am then able to view the data in the table but if I then try to edit or delete the data I receive a new error ' The Microsoft Jet Database engine stopped the process because you and another user are attempting to change the same data at the same time ' - I know this is not possible because at present I am the only one with access to the table.

In this particular table there are 146 columns, if I delete half of these then the table starts to work as it should, again I have tables that have far more columns than this and work perfectly.

Answer 1

Troubleshooting issues like this can be frustrating for sure.

I have found this article very helpful for my linked tables: Optimizing Microsoft Office Access Applications Linked to SQL Server

Specifically read the section titled Supporting Concurrency Checks . One thing you might try is adding a "timestamp" column to the table in question.