You receive a "Not a Valid Password" error message when you open an Access 97 database in Access 2000

View products that this article applies to.

This article was previously published under Q246033

Novice: Requires knowledge of the user interface on single-user computers.

This article applies only to a Microsoft Access database (.mdb).

SYMPTOMS

When you open a Microsoft Access 97 database in Microsoft Access 2000, and if the database password has 14 or more characters, you may receive the following error message:

Not a valid password.

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RESOLUTION

To work around this behavior, follow these steps:

Start Microsoft Access 97.
Open the database, and then type the password.
On the Tools menu, click Security, and then click Unset Database Password.
Type the password for the database, and then click OK.

The database no longer has a password. At this point, you can open the database in Access 2000 without a password, or you can continue with the following steps to set another password:
1. In Access 97, on the Tools menu, click Security, and then click Set Database Password.
2. Type a password that has fewer than 14 characters, and then click OK.
3. Open the database in Access 2000 with the new password.

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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a bug in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

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MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

Start Access 97.
Create a new database.
On the Tools menu, click Security, and then click Set Database Password
Type any 14 characters (or more) for the password; for example, type one of the following:
- RANDYNUMANCARS
- 1234567890123456789
- AAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Quit Access 97.
Start Access 2000.
In Access 2000, open the Access 97 database that you created in step 2.
When prompted, type the correct password, and then click OK. Note that you receive the following error message:
Not a valid password.

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For more information about passwords, click Microsoft Visual Basic Help on the Help menu, type password property in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view "Password Property."

For more information about passwords, click Microsoft Access Help on the Help menu, type create or change a security account password in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view "Create or change a security account password."

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