Comparing Built-in Compact and Repair Utility vs. Third-Party Solutions

Compact and Repair is a built-in utility of MS Access that allows users to reduce the physical size of the database file. It also helps in repairing database files that are corrupted, showing errors or not working as intended.

However, even being a built-in utility, the Compact and Repair utility has certain limitations. In case of database corruption, this utility may not fully recover tables, forms, or other database objects such as queries, modules, forms, etc.

Therefore, a powerful third-party access data recovery software can be used to fully recover data from a corrupted database.

What is Compact and Repair?

When you delete a certain object like a record or a module, from a large MS Access database, an empty space is created. However, this space is not used for new data as it is located in the reserved space of the database.

Hence, to free up this space and utilize it for storing more data, the compact and repair utility is used. It is a built-in MS Access utility that allows users to eliminate empty spaces from a database. Regularly using this tool to compact a large database file can help prevent unwanted corruption and data loss.

In cases of database errors like the ‘ID’ is not an index in this table error message or file corruption, this utility attempts to repair the Access database file by fixing the underlying issues.

Some Limitations of Compact and Repair

The built-in compact and repair utility has a number of limitations that may prevent it from fully recovering objects from a corrupted database file. Some of these limitations are –

• The Compact and Repair utility may fail when there are inconsistencies with the table definitions or data.
• It may fail to repair certain errors or fully recover database objects.
• It may fail in cases of severe database corruption.
• It may not fully repair split database files.
• It will not recover deleted records.

Third-party Access Repair Tool

Microsoft Access’s Compact and Repair utility is simple and easy to use. But due to its limitations as mentioned above, there are chances of failure or data loss. In case of severe database corruption, this utility may completely fail to repair the file and recover its objects.

Therefore, to prevent unwanted data loss a powerful Access database recovery software like Stellar Repair for Access is required. Unlike the Compact and Repair utility, it is a specialized third-party Access database repair software that helps you recover objects from a corrupt MS Access database into a new database file.

Whether your database has become inaccessible due to various errors or Microsoft JET Engine inconsistency issues, it can easily repair the file and recover the objects in a new database file. It can also help you restore a database to its original state in case of errors like an unrecognized database.

Key features of Stellar Repair for Access

• Repairs corrupt .MDB and .ACCDB files
• Repairs corrupt database objects like tables, forms, queries, etc.
• Capable of repairing split database files
• Helps restore and repair corrupted tables linked through different database files
• Allows users to preview recoverable database objects
• Can recover non-English language data from a corrupt database
• Allows users to recover selective database objects

Compact & Repair vs. Stellar Repair for Access

Basis		Compact & Repair	Stellar Repair for Access
Type of utility		It is a built-in MS Access utility.	It is a third-party software.
What does it do?		It eliminates unutilized spaces from a database.	It repairs corrupted or inaccessible databases and allows users to preview recoverable objects.
Database repair capabilities		It can repair database files with minor errors.	It repairs all kinds of database files, including error-riddled or severely corrupted database files.
Option to preview		No preview is available	It shows a preview of recoverable database objects.
Recovery of database objects		There is no option to recover database objects.	It allows users to perform selective recovery of database objects like tables, forms, etc.
Cost		It is an inbuilt utility in MS Access. You will have to pay for an MS Office license.	It is a paid tool with 1-year subscription.

Tips to prevent Access database corruption

Here are some tips that you can use to prevent Access database corruption –

• Split your database
• Close the application after use
• Regularly use the compact & repair utility

Conclusion

Compact & Repair is a utility that is a part of MS Access. This utility is helpful in resolving minor database errors and corruption scenarios. But it can also fail to repair an Access database file due to severe corruption. In such a scenario, you can use Stellar Repair for Access to repair such files and recover database objects without any hassle.