ACC2000: Slow Performance When You Open Objects in Design View in Access Running on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0

After you upgrade to Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6/6a on a client computer without upgrading the server to the same service pack, opening Access objects such as forms, reports, macros, or modules in Design View across a network is unusually slow. You may also notice a delay when you enter the first character in a module in the Visual Basic Editor. This problem does not occur with data access pages.

You can use either one of the following solutions to resolve this problem:

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Access 2000 running on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0.

Steps to Reproduce the Behavior

1. On a client computer that has Service Pack 6 installed, start Access 2000, and then create a new database named TestSP6.mdb.
2. In the Database window, click Forms under Objects, click New, click Design View, and then click OK.
3. Add a text box to the form.
4. On the File menu, click Save, and save the form as Form1.
5. Quit Access 2000.
6. Copy the TestSP6.mdb file to a shared network drive on the server. Make sure the server computer is configured with Windows NT Workstation or Server 4.0, Service Pack 5 or earlier.
7. On the client computer, start Access 2000, and then open the TestSP6.mdb file from the network share.
8. In the Database window, click Forms under Objects, click Form1, and then click Design. Note the delay that occurs. The delay is considerably longer then when you open the form in a database that is stored locally on the client computer.

For additional information about performance issues with Windows NT 4.0, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: