Summary: Are you having trouble opening a database (MDB) created with a previous Access version? Try the workaround discussed in this blog to resolve the issue. If the file is corrupted, you may use a professional Access repair tool to fix the corrupted file and retrieve its data.
When opening a database of an earlier version (.mdb format) in Microsoft Access version 2013 or later, you may encounter an error ‘Cannot open a database created with a previous version of your application.’
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You can fix the error by converting the old database file format (.mdb) to the .accdb file format.
However, with the release of Access 2013, you cannot directly convert an .mdb file to the .accdb format. To work around this, Microsoft recommends opening the Access database (MDB) in Access 2007 or later versions, and then saving it in the file format you can open in Access version 2013 or higher.
The steps to convert the .mdb file to .accdb file format will vary depending on the Access version.
To convert an .mdb file of Access 97 database to .accdb file format, perform these steps:
The file will get saved in .accdb file format.
For converting an Access 2000/2002/2003 (.mdb) file to the .accdb file format, do the following:
Note: If you’re using a previous version of the Access 2000 database, a ‘Database Enhancement’ dialog box will open. To proceed, see the Steps to Convert Access 97 Database (MDB) to ACCDB Format.
The database will get saved in Access 2007 database (.accdb) file format.
If you cannot convert the Access database .mdb file, it means that the file is corrupt. You can try to repair the database using the Access inbuilt ‘Compact and Utility’ feature. But if it does not work, use an Access repair tool to restore the database.
Stellar Repair for Access is a reliable tool that you can use to repair a corrupted MDB/ACCDB file. The software repairs the file and provides a preview of the recoverable file data. Once you’ve verified the data, you can save the repaired file. The detailed steps are as follows:
Navigate to the location where you have saved the file, open it, and access its data.
If you’ve encountered the Access error ‘Cannot open a database created with a previous version’, try the workaround discussed in this blog. If you fail to convert the .mdb file to the .accdb file format due to corruption, use Stellar Repair for Access software to fix the corrupted file and recover its data. The software can help recover macros, modules, forms, and other components from a corrupted Access database file.
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.
