ACC: Invalid Path Error Message Using UNC with 10+ Characters (105514)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Access 1.0
- Microsoft Access 1.1
- Microsoft Access 2.0
This article was previously published under Q105514 Novice: Requires knowledge of the user interface on single-user computers.
SYMPTOMS
If you attempt to use a universal naming convention (UNC) path in
Microsoft Access in which the server name is longer than 10 characters
or contains spaces, you get the following error message
\\<servername>\<sharename> isn't a valid path
even though valid UNC server names can be up to 15 characters and can
contain spaces.
For example, the path
SystemDB=\\s234567890\ANYSHARE\SYSTEM.MDA
works correctly, but the following UNC paths cause the above error
message to appear:
SystemDB=\\s2345678901\ANYSHARE\SYSTEM.MDA
SystemDB=\\s2345 7890\ANYSHARE\SYSTEM.MDA
CAUSE
This problem is not caused directly by Microsoft Access, but rather by an
external host, such as Microsoft Windows for Workgroups, or by a network
problem. Microsoft Access does not parse UNC paths; it hands them off to
external processes.
RESOLUTION
One way to work around this problem is to connect the server to a
logical drive before using Microsoft Access and then reference the
logical drive instead of the server.
For example, you want to use a server named \\MY SERVER\MYSHARE,
and you are using Microsoft LAN Manager. To reference this server,
type:
NET USE F: \\MY SERVER\MYSHARE
In your MSACCESS.INI file, reference it as follows:
SystemDB=F:\SYSTEM.MDA
STATUS
This behavior no longer occurs in Microsoft Access version 7.0, which can
handle UNC names larger than 10 characters.
| Modification Type: | Major | Last Reviewed: | 5/6/2003 |
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| Keywords: | kbenv kbfix kbprb KB105514 |
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