"Selected Collating Sequence Not Supported" error message in Access 2000

SYMPTOMS

When you try to open a database or an object in a database (such as a table or a form), or when you try to compact a database, you may receive one of the following error messages:


Selected collating sequence not supported by the operating system.

-or-
 
Invalid collating sequence.
 
-or-
 
Unrecognized database format.
 
BECAUSE

One of the following conditions is true:
 
- You are trying to open a database or an object in a database that was created in another language edition of Microsoft Access. 
- You are trying to open a database that was created or compacted while the New Database Sort Order was set to a value other than General.

To check the setting of the New Database Sort Order, follow these steps:

1. Open an existing database that was not created or compacted while the Sort Order was set to a value other than General. For example, open the sample database Northwind.mdb. 
2. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the General tab. 
3. Make sure that the New Database Sort Order is set to General and then click OK.
If you are receiving the errors described in the "Symptoms" section, setting the New Database Sort Order back to General does not resolve the problem; however, it prevents the problem from occurring with new databases. 
 
RESOLUTION

Install or enable multilanguage support for your operating system.
 
NOTE: Even if you install multilanguage support, you cannot open a database if it requires a code page that is not supported by your operating system. If the database was created in a language that uses a type of character set supported by your operating system, you can open the database after you have enabled support for multiple languages.
 
To install multilanguage support in Windows 95/98 or Windows NT, please follow the steps in one of the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. 

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