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Microsoft Access97 works fine on
Vista, once you can get it to install. My original install CD is the SR-1 version, and I was alarmed to discover that the SR-2 patch doesn't work on
Vista, because
Vista's new security model prvents the patch from updating the program files. How do I install the Access 97 SR-2 patch? Fortunately there is a workaround.
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I used my old testing laptop and created a
WinXP install, and then installed
Access97, the ODE Tools, the print relationships wizard, and the service packs for both ODE and SR-2. Then I backed up the files onto an external drive. The folder I used for
Access97 was
c:\Program Files\Office97 so that these files don't get mixed up with newer versions of office.
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Next, I created an install script using
Inno Setup, based on the log file created by the SR-2 patch program. After creating and running the setup program, my copy of
Access97 reports that it is indeed version SR-2, as shown in the screen shot above.
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If you want to use this patch, then you must have done the following:
Delete the
HATTEN.TTF (Haettenschweiler) font, and then install Access97 SR-1. I have not tested the install with a pre-SR1 version. Run Access97 SR-1 as administrator (just right click on the shortcut and select "Run as administrator") to ensure that Access has correctly set up all its registry entries.
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Only once you have completed these steps is it okay to download and run my
Access97SR2Setup.exe file (25MB). Alternatively, you can download the
Access97sr2.zip file which contains a copy of the
Inno Setup script file.
Don't be confused: you can't use this script to actually install
Access97 without an original Access97 or Office97 CD, because the script only updates existing files. If you want to install the
Acces97 Runtime tester, then follow the link. The runtime version only allows you to run Access programs, not edit Access databases. Also, my installer does not patch Word, Excel, etc.
Update: after installing the patch I have stopped getting a weird compile error when creating MDE files. I guess it was fixed by one of the SR-2 updates or the ODE service pack fix.
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