Much of Access’ repair functionality is taken care of automatically. If a corrupt file is detected, Access will attempt to repair it in the background or at least try to salvage the parts of the database file that are still usable.

If a system crash or power outage causes Access to shut down completely without your consent, Access creates a backup file of the one you were working on in the Access program folder on your computer. The file is named filename_Backup.mdb or filename_Backup.adp depending on what you were working on, either the full database or a data access page (where filename is the name of the file you were working on prior to the crash.)

Open the database backup file and Access will attempt to restore the database back to its full capacity.

There might come a time where Microsoft Access or any other part of the Microsoft Office package has become corrupt or damaged. If this happens, Access has a self-repair function found in the Help menu under Help à Detect and Repair. (If you don’t see that menu option right away, click the expand button () at the bottom of the menu to see all available options.)

Select the restore options you would like and click Start. The repair functionality of Microsoft Office should only be done by professionals or if you are absolutely sure that the program is not functioning correctly. You may be prompted to insert the Office 2003 Application CD during the repair process, and repair operations can sometimes take several minutes to complete.