DOS File Handles (A97 / A2K)

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I have written a small database that will be used by six or seven people. The database is set up as a frontend and a backend, with the frontend distributed to users and the backend on a server that we all have rights to according to the IT folks. The users are running either Win 2K or NT (version 3.5 IIRC).

The database was written in Access 97, since that’s what I have on my machine. The new Access users are getting Access 2K installed, and when they try to open and convert the front end file they are getting an error message “Out of MS DOS File Handles.” I had really hoped to leave all this behind years ago – I can vaguely remember dealing with config.sys and autoexec.cfg (etc) files back in the bad ‘ol DOS days, but I thought it was all by the boards. Our IT group has been about as helpful as MS technical support – and if they were any good we wouldn’t all be here, now would we? The file converts to A2K without problem on my home computer (Win 98)

Does anyone have any suggestions for how we can correct this?

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There wasn’t much on the Microsoft site regarding that error and I have never experienced it. I would take the version you converted successfully on your home computer, bring it to work and install it on one of your A2K user’s machines, relink the tables from the v97 back-end and see if that works. If it does, great. If not, then I think your problem rests with the link between the front-end/back-end and not with your version 2000 conversion.
That is at least a first step.

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Which version of Windows are you seeing this error on? NT 3.5 has all sorts of problems, and there isn’t really any way to cure them through Access. You might take a look at MSKB article 131778 and see if that covers the problem.

You should be aware, too, that the A2k front ends will have very poor performance against an Access 97 back end, so don’t be surprised about complaints.

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Charlotte and Andrew – thank you both for your responses.

We are seeing this error on the NT machines – will check to see that it is NT 3.5, and not 3.51. I will also try to see if any of the users are on Win 2K to see if they have better luck. I have tried giving them an A2K version by e-mail, but I think they are having trouble with updating or resetting the link to the back-end. It is awkward because we are about 15 miles apart (so performance is already not the greatest), making it hard to grab the mouse and do it for them

Charlotte – thanks for the heads-up on a A2K front-end working against an A97 backend. There are only two of us on A97, so it might save one further headache to upgrade those two machines, and then run on A2K throughout. No doubt the beancounters will get excited about a “needless” upgrade – when you have 6,000 PCs it just wouldn’t do to run the same application suite on all of them…

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If you aren’t giving them an installer to put the app on their machines, there are too many possible things can break. Especially with NT as one of the operating systems. It is not nearly as flexible about things as Win2k, and even Access 2000 had some problems on Win NT 4.0 depending on whether the service pack was 4 or above. Using that old a version of NT is likely to increase your headaches all around.

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Charlotte – thanks for your comments. My mistake: one workstation that is giving us trouble is Win 2K pro – the other ones I don’t know. They will either be W2K or NT4.

That particular workstation reports the same error whether trying to convert an A 97 front end, or just opening an A2K front end – although the user was able to load the last version of the same file successfully.

One other workstation seemed able to load the A2K front end, but the link to the back end was wrong. I think that was my fault, and I can walk them through establishing the correct link (if they ever call me back….)

I have no idea how I would use an installer, although it sounds like a good idea; it’s one more weapon to mess things up, at least

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