Receiving the error message, "The database could not be accessed. In order to access this database, check your network connection and verify that your database server is available. It may be necessary to disable any firewall software..." The 2 most likely causes on a standalone are a damaged or invalid .pad file or SQL is not running, or is damaged. .PAD file - Close ACT! - Click your Windows Start button, choose Run and type in actdiag - When ACT! Diagnostics comes up, click Databases, the Database List - Locate your database in the list, right-click on it and select Detach. Make sure you know the filepath to your database before detaching it. - When the database has been detached, open My Computer (or Windows Explorer) and browse to the location of your database. - Locate the .PAD file for your database [database name].pad and delete it - Reopen ACT!...you will get a message that the last database opened cannot found, then will be taken to the Open Database dialog box - At the bottom of this box, change the Files of Type to .adf, browse to the location of your database and double-click on the .adf file for your database - You will get a message that ACT! will verify your database, click OK and ACT! will reattach your database to SQL and create a new .pad file SQL Server - Close ACT! - Click on your Windows Start button, select run, and type in services.msc - When the list of Local Services comes up, scroll down and locate the service called SQL Server (ACT7) - Look in the Status column and make sure it says Started...if not, then right-click on the service and select Start If either of these suggestions does not resolve the issue, then please see the following Knowledgebase article for additional troubleshooting: Error: "The database could not be accessed. In order to access this database, check your network connection and verify that your database server is available. It may be necessary to disable any firewall software...