ACC2000: Make MDE/ADE Operation Fails Silently When Target Disk Is Full

If you try to create an MDE database file from an existing database, or an ADE file from a data project, and the target disk where you save the MDE or ADE file does not contain enough free disk space, Microsoft Access fails to create the MDE or ADE file, and no error message occurs.

Select a target location for the MDE or ADE file with enough free disk space to store the database that you are converting. In most cases, the MDE or ADE file is smaller than the source database. If there is enough space on the target drive to store the source database, there is enough space to store the MDE or ADE file.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Access.

Steps to Reproduce the Problem

1. Start Microsoft Access and open the sample database Northwind.mdb or the sample project NorthwindCS.adp.
2. Insert a formatted disk into your computer's floppy disk drive, or select a hard disk that has less than 1.44 megabytes (MB) of free disk space.
3. On the Tools menu, point to Database Utilities, and then click Make MDE File. If you are using the project (NorthwindCS.adp), click Make ADE File.
4. In the Save MDE As dialog box (or Save ADE As in the project), in the Save in box, select the floppy disk drive or the hard disk with less than 1.44 MB of free space.
5. Click Save.

When the operation finishes, note that the MDE file (or the ADE file for project users) does not exist on the target drive, and you receive no error message. Note also that the status bar in Microsoft Access still reads "Make MDE/ADE." You must quit and restart Microsoft Access to remove the message.

For more information about MDE files, click Microsoft Access Help on the Help menu, type work with mde files in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.