Urgent Assistance Required: Microsoft Access Runtime Error Preventing Application Access

Hi @Kelvin Sonsona

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A Forum and for sharing the details of your issue.  

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I understand how important it is for you to get Microsoft Access working properly, and I’ll do my best to help. 

Based on my research, it looks like the Microsoft Access Runtime is currently installed on your machine instead of the full version of Access that comes with your Microsoft 365 subscription. The Runtime is designed only to open databases when launched directly (for example, by double-clicking a .accdb or .mdb file) and does not allow starting Access in the full application mode. 

To move forward, you might want to try these steps: 

1.Confirm your subscription:

Please sign in to "https://account.microsoft.com/services" with your Microsoft account and check if Microsoft 365 Apps (which includes Access) is active under your subscriptions. 

2.Remove Access Runtime:

Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, look for Microsoft Access Runtime, and uninstall it. 

3.Install the full version of Access 

After removing the Runtime, reinstall Office/Microsoft 365 Apps by signing into "https://www.office.com" with your subscription account, then downloading and installing the apps. This will ensure the correct version of Access is installed. 

If both the Access Runtime and the full version are installed, I suggest uninstalling the Runtime and keeping only the full version from your Microsoft 365 subscription, since the Runtime can cause the error you’re experiencing. 

If the issue continues after reinstalling, please let me know: 

-Which Microsoft 365 subscription you’re using.

-Whether Access is listed among your installed apps after the reinstallation.

This information can help us understand whether the issue is related to your license or the installation and guide you more accurately. 
Please understand that as a moderator, I’m not able to contact you directly by email or phone due to forum policies and privacy reasons, but I’ll be happy to continue assisting you here in this thread.

Thank you again for your patience and understanding, and please feel free to share any updates after trying the steps above.

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Some versions of M365 include Access, but not all. So, please start by indicating which version you have. You can also check this page to see which versions do include Access.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/buy/compare-all-microsoft-365-products-b?ef_id=k_bb15776a8b30176128871fdb13df5996_k&OCID=AIDcmmlu1x6v4q_SEM__k_bb15776a8b30176128871fdb13df5996_k_

You'll need to scroll down roughly halfway to find the place where Access is ticked off, when it is included.

This statement is somewhat ambiguous, "This error prevents me from opening Microsoft Access normally, which is critical for my work."

Does this mean you previously could use Access, i.e. it is currently critical? Or does this mean you plan to start using Access, and it will, therefore, be critical? It could be that somehow the Access runtime was inadvertently, or mistakenly, installed on your computer.

Remember also that Access is a Windows application that runs only on the desktop, under Windows.

Other members of the Office suite have browser versions, e.g. Word or Excel. Access does not.