Access Self Program Shutdown

[SouthOfSanity]

I have been running into a problem with a particular Access data query. Whenever I try to open the query on Design view, the whole Access program shuts down on its own. The same thing happens when I try to open the other queries that are linked to it, the program shuts down. I can't run the queries that are linked to it either -- the whole program shuts down on its own if I do that. Does anyone know what might be the cause of this phenomenon? What should I do to fix it?

I have run this same query before, about a month ago, so it's not a newly created query. Though, a similar problem came up at the time, but after I recreated the query it ran fine then.

Thanks.

[JMO]

Have you tried the Compact database operation?

[Tom]

[shot in the dark]Could it be a RAM issue? In general, sometimes programs shut down like this when the CPU runs out of RAM/virtual memory, but I have no idea that this could be the case in Access. How much RAM are you working with, and have you tried running the same thing on a different computer?[/shot in the dark]

[SouthOfSanity]

Originally Posted by JMO

Have you tried the Compact database operation?

I don't know what Compact database operation is. ??

[JMO]

In access, tools, database utilities, compact and repair database.
It cannot make things much worse than the already are.

(Access does have some really stupid features, including the need to compact the database occasionally. If there is program logic that can do this, why doesn't it happen automatically?
*Because it really is a hog on file space while doing this.*
Anyway, I blame Bill Gates. )

[SouthOfSanity]

Originally Posted by Tom

[shot in the dark]Could it be a RAM issue? In general, sometimes programs shut down like this when the CPU runs out of RAM/virtual memory, but I have no idea that this could be the case in Access. How much RAM are you working with, and have you tried running the same thing on a different computer?[/shot in the dark]

The machine has a considerable sized RAM -- 1GB of RAM. But I'll try running it using a different computer to see if it still shuts down on me. Thanks.

[SouthOfSanity]

Originally Posted by JMO

In access, tools, database utilities, compact and repair database.
It cannot make things much worse than the already are.

(Access does have some really stupid features, including the need to compact the database occasionally. If there is program logic that can do this, why doesn't it happen automatically?
*Because it really is a hog on file space while doing this.*
Anyway, I blame Bill Gates. )

Oh that! I should have thought of that. Thank you, I'll try compacting it. See if it works. Thanks.

[GadgetGeek]

Originally Posted by JMO

Have you tried the Compact database operation?

Originally Posted by SouthOfSanity

I don't know what Compact database operation is. ??

Depending on your version of Access, on the menus, there is a "compact and repair database" option. (I'm on 2007 and I don't recall where it was under a usable version of access, but in 2007 you click "glowing orb|manage|compact and repair").

What this does is clears the database of any deleted records and attempts to repair any problems within the database structure. The size of the database will be greatly reduced if you've done a lot of deletions over time.

Also, Access really starts to freak out at about the 2gig file size.

Edit: I type slow and JMO beat me to it

[JMO]

Originally Posted by GadgetGeek

Edit: I type slow and JMO beat me to it

Great minds think alike, though.

[SouthOfSanity]

Originally Posted by JMO

In access, tools, database utilities, compact and repair database.
It cannot make things much worse than the already are.

(Access does have some really stupid features, including the need to compact the database occasionally. If there is program logic that can do this, why doesn't it happen automatically?
*Because it really is a hog on file space while doing this.*
Anyway, I blame Bill Gates. )

So I tried compacting the database. Did not help. The file size is only 33,724KB, so it's unlikely this has to do with the file size. Looks like I might have to recreate the query again. I hope I don't have to recreate it every single month. If you have any other thoughts, please feel free to share. Any help is appreciated.