I'm having an odd problem with Microsoft Access 2003. I'm trying to setup Access on a Windows 2003 Server that will be used as a Citrix server. However, when I open a database file that includes some VBA code or macros, Access closes with the following error:
Microsoft Office Access has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
I'm given the option to "Repair my open database and restart Microsoft Office Access", but that doesn't work either. If I hold down the shift key to prevent the start-up switchboard from opening, the database will open and allow access to the tables, forms, etc. However, if I open one of the forms with VBA code or macros, Access crashes. My first thought was that this was a problem with the database file, but I have problems with the sample database as well. When I open the sample database, the switchboard comes up, but when I click on the Categories button, Access crashes.
The only time I have been able to get Access to work is by installing Windows Server 2003 (not SP1, not R2) and installing Office. But once I install Windows Server 2003 SP1, Access stops working. Since I have to have SP1 in order for Citrix to work, I'm stuck.
I've tried using a few different versions of Windows (Server 2003 Standard and Enterprise, Server 2003 R2 Standard and Enterprise) and I've tried each of the service packs. I've tried downloading all the updates for Windows as well as for Office to make sure something hasn't been fixed. I'm still having the same problems.
To make things even more interesting, there's a server we're using as a web server that also has Office 2003 installed on it and Access works just fine on that server. The server is running Windows Server 2003 Enterprise with SP2. I don't know the history of this server so I don't know what has been done to this server.
Also, I tried installing Office 2007 on the server thinking the problem may have been fixed in the latest version of Office. With Access 2007, I can open the database and see the switchboard, but Access 2007 disables macros by default. With macros disabled, none of the buttons on the switchboard work, so I need macros enabled. As soon as I enable macros, Access 2007 crashes.
The problem is happening with more than just these two databases (it has happened with at least 5 that I know of), I'm just using these two for testing. I've also tried converting the database from an Access 2000 database to an Access 2003 database and that didn't help either.
I really need to get this working so I can publish Access to our users. If I can't get this to work, then I'm stuck with deploying the program to each of the computers of the people that need it which is not only time consuming but expensive.
Thanks in advance for any help,
Daniel
