I upgraded from Windos XP to Windows 7 Home Premium and reinstalled BD 3.6 from the download I had saved from 11/09. I al;so copied my database to the data folder. Now I get this message when trying to open BD. What do I do  now?

When you upgraded to Windows 7, did you install it in the default folder?

Overriding where the installer wants to put BD can result in some strange errors. Windows 7 moves files around and builds aliases to them, and that may be confusing the issue.

If it is in the "wrong" folder, it may be possible to start it by right-clicking and selecting "Run as Admin"

Let us know.

It sounds as if your database.mdb file is write-protected (e.g. Read-Only). This can happen if you move your database from one system to another using a CDrom or other read-only material (after initially created).

To check this, right-click on your database in Windows Explorer and choose "Properties". On the "General" TAB, if the Read-Only checkbox is checked, uncheck it and click Apply. Now see if BD can open the database.

Make sure, as Steve mentioned above, that you are installed into "C:\Birder's Diary\".

I am installed in C;\:\Birders Diary. I did not change the default location. The database is not write prtected. I moved it to BD on a flashdrive. Incidently, the program would not start, and I got the same error message when I attempted to open it before I moved my data base in. I was able to open the program runninit as administrator and get the license key in. After I closed it, I still cannot open it as a normal program.

Thanks for the information.

In this case, I suspect that the file is not properly named "database.mdb". In windows, Explorer has a nasty feature where it hides the filename extension (e.g. ".mdb") from you. You can turn this feature on or off (Tools | Folder Options | View TAB | "Hide extensions for known file types"). It also likes to hide menu options, so you have to hold the ALT key on your keyboard to see the "Tools" menu bar. My guess is that if you turn off the "Hide extensions..." feature, you will see that you named your database as "database.mdb.mdb". In which case, simply rename it.

If that doesn't work, then one more follow-up question... can you still run BD right now if you "run as admin", or does that fail also?

Jeff

 I stumbled across the solution. The file was named correctly and had the correct extension without any extras. What worked was to right click on properties on the database file, go to the security tab, and click edit. Then click Users (Spencer\user) and check the full access box to give my user names full access to the data file. I had to do the same thing to the backup file to get the program to allow me to back up. Wish I could say that I really knew what I was doing, but it was just dumb luck.

My grandson set the acounts up on this computer a long time ago. It would not surprise me at all that he did not set my account up with admin priviliges.