‘Cannot Attach Database’ error on startup

There are a few reasons why the software may generate a ‘cannot attach database’ error. For example, the Operating System may not have sufficient memory to launch the software (for example, if other memory-heavy software is running), or if the user does not have file access to the relevant folder(s).

To resolve the memory capacity issue, there are several routes that can be followed:

• The user may be running many other applications that may be utilising a large amount of memory. It is recommended that the number of applications running be reviewed.
• The Windows OS may have a number of temporary files held in its standby memory (for example, this occurs after Windows Updates). A full shutdown and restart can help clear this standby memory for use by other applications.
• If a full shutdown/restart has not solved this, the user may use a tool such as RAMMap (which can be found on the Microsoft website) to clear ‘Standby’ memory.

To resolve the file access issue, the user needs to provide write access to the ‘Projects’ folder on the machine. To do this:

1. Go into the C:\ProgramData\PerceptiveAPC\Projects folder.
2. Right click, and choose “Properties”.
3. Provide Write permissions to the user that is launching the software (in the case where the software is running as a service, this will be the user configured for the service – typically one with administrator privileges).