Microsoft Access (MDB_ADO) Database Connections crash FME process

Question

Using FME Form 2025.1.3.2 (20251029 - Build 25646 - WIN64), when using MDB_ADO database connections, either in a Reader, Writer, or a FeatureReader, FME crashes at the end of it’s process. The log screen says

Translation was SUCCESSFUL
FME Session Duration: 2.7 seconds. (CPU: 1.3s user, 0.4s system)
END - ProcessID: 9984, peak process memory usage: 89716 kB, current process memory usage: 88552 kB

so the translation is actually finished it seems, but the underlying fme.exe process crashes and never returns. So the UI never changes the red square Stop Translation button into the green triangle Run Traslation, and the Data Explorer is not started. In the Task Manager a Crashpad.exe can be seen, along with an FME Objects Worker.

This only happens if there is an MDB_ADO connection in use. Other workspaces using all sorts of Readers/Writers run fine without any issues. It seems to have started about a week ago, before that this worked fine.

Does anybody have any idea if there have been any Windows Updates that might have broken this?

Best answer by desiree_at_safe

Hi @s.jager! This looks related to a series of Microsoft security hardening updates that began in January 2026. We have a support article with more details and suggested workarounds here:

https://support.safe.com/hc/en-us/articles/46156744172429-Microsoft-Access-MDB-ADO-FME-stuck-in-perpetual-state-of-translation

If you run into any issues with those workarounds, feel free to reach out or open a support case if you have one available - we're happy to dig in further!

---
[Internal Reference: FMEENGINE-89580]

desiree_at_safe · Accepted Answer

Hi ​@s.jager! This looks related to a series of Microsoft security hardening updates that began in January 2026. We have a support article with more details and suggested workarounds here:https://support.safe.com/hc/en-us/articles/46156744172429-Microsoft-Access-MDB-ADO-FME-stuck-in-perpetual-state-of-translationIf you run into any issues with those workarounds, feel free to reach out or open a support case if you have one available - we're happy to dig in further!---[Internal Reference:FMEENGINE-89580]

s.jager · Answer

Thanks! We’ve just (yesterday) upgraded to 2026.1.2, and the first runs confirm that this is indeed our problem. Running a workspace with MDB_ADO Readers/Writers now seems to work fine, calling those same workspaces through WorkspaceRunners does not work. So to me that confirms bullet #3 from that article. I’ll try to rewrite the whole process using FeatureReaders and FeatureWriters (It’s a conversion of a type of database that has lots of Foreign Keys, so the order in which data is written matters).

Thanks again!

Microsoft Access (MDB_ADO) Database Connections crash FME process

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