This is a sponsored article and was made possible by Recovery Toolbox. The actual contents and opinions are the sole views of the author who maintains editorial independence, even when a post is sponsored.

Microsoft Access isn’t a piece of software that you use casually all that often. Chances are, if you’re using Access, you’re using it for your job or something equally important. Because of that, if something goes wrong with your Access databases, you’re probably in big trouble.

That is where Recovery Toolbox for Access comes in. This is part of a group of applications from Recovery Toolbox focused on data recovery. This tool specifically repairs MDB and ACCDB database files, and in our experience, it could be an invaluable tool if you’re an Access power user.

Pricing

There are a few different pricing options for Recovery Toolbox for Access, depending on how you’ll be using it. The most affordable is the Personal License, which costs $27. This is for you if you’ll be using the software just for your own, non-commercial use.

If you’re using Recovery Toolbox for Access in a professional setting, you’ll need the Business License. This covers enterprise, commercial, and governmental environments and costs $45.

Finally, if you’ll be using the software on several computers, you can opt for the Site License. This covers up to 100 computers, either in the same building or across several buildings, and costs $60.

System Requirements

Recovery Toolbox for Access is only available for Windows, but this shouldn’t be a problem, as Access is only available for Windows. As long as your operating system isn’t positively ancient, you should be able to run the software. Windows 98, Me, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, and 10 are supported as well as Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012, and 2016.

You’ll also need Microsoft Access 2003 or higher installed, but given the purpose of this software, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Features

As long as you’re not using an extremely dated version of Access, Recovery Toolbox for Access should be able to recover your databases. It supports databases from Access 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2019, as well as respective Office 365 versions.

It can recover corrupted tables as well as data from damaged tables. The software supports recovering both primary and foreign keys and indexes as well. Recovery Toolbox for Access can also recover Viewers, except for those from Forms and Reports.

The software can recover Queries, deleted tables, and more. It also supports recovery of Unicode data, which may be important to you. The software supports most types of Access queries, except for those used in Forms and Reports.

When it comes to the recovery process, you can preview recoverable data. Recovery Toolbox for Access even supports previewing recoverable structures and scripts before you begin the recovery process.

Limitations

There are a few limitations of Recovery Toolbox for Access. While it can recover a staggering amount of data, there are a few things it can’t recover. These include forms, macros, and modules.

The software is also unable to recover password-protected files. This is understandable, as if it could, you could use it to remove password protection from someone else’s database files.

Using Recovery Toolbox for Access

First, install Recovery Toolbox for Access on your computer. Once you’ve done this, recovering Access databases is a simple process.

Launch the app, and you’ll be prompted to select a file to recover. Select the file via the standard file picker menu. Now tap the Next button to move to the preview part of the recovery process.

You’ll get a glimpse of what parts of your database are recoverable. In many cases the entire database or at least most of it should be recoverable. Now tap the Next button again.

On the next screen you’ll have two options. The first is the file in which to save the recovered data. The second is the Recover Mode. You can Recover all objects, only existing objects, or only deleted objects. The “Recover all objects” mode is selected by default.

Now tap the Recover button to initiate the recovery process. Once this is complete, close the app and open the new file in Access.

Recovery Toolbox sent us a series of files to use to test Recovery Toolbox for Access, since not everyone has a damaged Access database on hand. Each time the recovery process was simple and extremely fast.

Repair Online

One other option is to use the online tool. This is handy if you don’t have Access installed on your computer or if you don’t want to install the full software.

Simply head to the Recovery Toolbox for Access website to get started.

Conclusion

Like most of the software tools that Recovery Toolbox makes, this software has very specific use cases. If you’re an occasional user, you can either buy the software if or when something goes wrong. If your livelihood depends on your Access databases, Recovery Toolbox for Access is something you should keep on hand. Considering the relatively low price, it’s worth it.

If you already have a damaged database but aren’t sure if you want to pay the price, you have options. As mentioned earlier, there’s an online tool for one-time uses. There is also a downloadable demo of Recovery Toolbox for Access available to try out. This will let you make sure the software will work for you before you pay to upgrade.

Kris Wouk is a writer, musician, and whatever it’s called when someone makes videos for the web.

Our latest tutorials delivered straight to your inbox