Access 97 on Windows 10?

It will work. It's not without various weird issues, though. 

On one Windows 10 Home machine, our MDE refuses to run. The MDB compiles without issue to an MDE (and yes, the references are all the correct) but the MDE just won't run unless the MDB is compiled on that machine.

On another Windows 10 Pro 64-bit install, that same MDE runs fine, without recompilation.  The MDB also runs and compiles fine. However, attempting to generate an MDE on that machine generates "Error in hidden module: [whatever module name].", followed by , "Microsoft Access was unable to create an MDE database."

The fix is to explicitly reference "DBEngine." before every OpenDatabase command and any other methods or properties of DBEngine.  It should be, and is on most machines, implicit and shouldn't require explicitly stating, for example, Set db =  DBEngine.OpenDatabase,  Set ErrorObj = DBEngine.Errors, etc, though.  It's very odd, but that's the fix.  Apparently, this happens on other versions of Windows as well, but Windows 10 is the first place we've ever seen it.

We also ran into problems with the installer not properly entering registry entries on the Windows 10 64 bit OS installation.  Specifically, the necessary keys for the various graphics filters were put in the wrong place in the registry.  This will get you errors with Access complaining that it can't display pictures.  The fix involves exporting to a file, the pertinent keys of the registry on any working installation on any OS, starting here:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Graphics Filters]

then editing the file so all the entries read like this:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Graphics Filters]

Save the file, then import it into the Windows 10 machine's registry.

So, yes, there are some very weird and tough to nail down issues, but they can be worked through.  It's not the least bit fun, though, for sure, and information on running Access 97 on Windows 10 is pretty limited.  Hopefully, this helps someone.

Microsoft will not support Office 97 on Windows 10, but it doesn't mean it won't work. I have no experience as to whether Office or Access 97 will work as expected on Windows 10. I know Office 2003 and Office 2007 do work in Windows 10 and again are no longer supported by Microsoft.

You need to be sure you have robust backups of your databases as there is no upgrade route from Windows XP to Windows 10 and will require a clean install. This means you must have access to Office/Access 97 install media and the licence info.

Hardware designed for Windows XP may not be compatible Windows 10, so new computers may be the best way forward.

As Office/Access 97 is old now then it should be time to consider a newer version.

Hi SealableYeti222, Users have reported working with access97 as recent as January 2020 other than that no recent attempts have been made.

I was able to successfully install and run it in virtual machine running windows 10 ver 20h2 though couldnot utilize or test it without any database.

However as before I would recommend caution and working with a backup before trusting it with your main data files.

Thanks for the advise

My concern is that this site is from 2016 and I am sure Microsoft has added security patches since then? I guess I can try it and see whether it will work for the team

thanks

mark

Hi SealableYeti222,

I am Jaspreet Singh an independent advisor.

Yes it is still possible to use Access 97 or even complete office 97 without much issues as done by the team here : https://windowsinstructed.com/run-microsoft-off...

Though I would make a small test with a backup and one machine before going full in.

Disclaimer: this is a non Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate and safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (potentially unwanted products). Throughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it