Last Tuesday, October 11, 2021 I was all set to present SQL Server with Access Academy Part II when I hit a roadblock I could not overcome: SQL Server Migration Assistant for Access, (SSMA), would not load the sample Northwind database and I was stuck, could not continue the session.

I’ve done it for countless years…still should have checked

I’ve been doing SQL Server with Access academy for years, I repeat it every year and its a great way for newbies to get up to speed quickly on optimizing Access with SQL Server, but this year I did not test it.

Turns out its a bug

From Mark Edwards, it turns out the issue was a known bug:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/error-the-operating-system-is-not-presently-configured-to-run-this-application-when-when-trying-to-use-the-access-database-engine-dao-api-from-a-non-microsoft-office-application-c551294a-6f4e-4af5-a89f-e79e232b9898

Moral of the story: check your demos before the presentation!

See you on December 13th!

Join me when I again will try to have the Access with SQL Server Academy Part II: using SSMA to upload data to SQL Server, and if you missed the first part you can find it here: