Access "not responding" on initial open

Question

I am using Office Professional on a Windows 10 system with all current updates applied, and both Windows and Office are properly activated. The system operates in an offline environment with no Internet access. I have found that when the system has been disconnected for a period of time (1-2 days), Access will hang up (not responding) for about 30 seconds and then resume normal operation. This happens regardless of the database I am trying to open. Even if I open a "blank database" with no data/tables/objects. I don't observe the issue with Excel or Word.

If I allow the computer Internet access and open the database, Access opens immediately. If I subsequently disconnect from the Internet, Access will continue to open normally for a period of a day or two, then resume the slow behavior.

I have run the system file checker, and have uninstalled/reinstalled Office using the offline install utility. I have been able to reproduce the same issue on multiple computers running similar configurations.

I believe the issue is caused by the Software Protection service, because each time Access opens, there are several events added to the Windows Event Log:

Event ID: 16394

Office downlevel migration succeeded

Event ID: 1003

The Software Protection service has completed licensing check.

{followed by multiple license identification values}

Event ID: 1003

The Software Protection service has completed licensing check.

{followed by multiple license identification values}

Event ID: 16384

Successfully scheduled Software Protection service for re-start at 2122-03-06T14:49:23Z. Reason: RulesEngine.

Can anyone suggest how I can prevent Access from getting hung up waiting for Software Protection to complete?

Answer 1

I can't offer any solution, but can state that Office needs to call home and will even lockdown if it can't do so after a period of time. Sadly Windows and Office now require internet access to function.