FP2000: Cannot Update Database When You Browse Anonymously

When you attempt to use an UPDATE SQL query or a Microsoft FrontPage form to insert records in a Microsoft Excel database, you may receive an error message similar to the following: This message is displayed in the Web browser window.

This behavior can occur if the IUSR_computername account does not have the correct NTFS permissions to gain access to the database. The IUSR_computername account is created automatically by Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) for anonymous access, and IIS requires Read and Write permissions to connect and write to the database.

To resolve this issue, assign the IUSR_computername account Read and Write permissions to the database. To do this, follow these steps, as appropriate to your operating system.

Microsoft Windows 2000

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Windows Explorer.
2. Browse to the database file.
3. Right-click the file, and then click Properties.
4. Click the Security tab.
5. Click the IUSR_computername account.
6. In the Permissions box, click to select the Read check box under Allow, click to select the Write check box, and then click OK.

Microsoft Windows NT 4.0

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Windows Explorer.
2. Browse to the database file.
3. Right-click the file, and then click Properties.
4. Click the Security tab, and then click Permissions.
5. In the File Permissions dialog box, click the IUSR_computername account.
6. In the Type of Access box, click Special Access.
7. In the Special Access dialog box, click Other, and then click to select both the Read(R) and Write(W) check boxes.
8. Click OK three times to close the dialog boxes.

For additional information about the error message described in the "Symptoms" section of this article, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: