Extract text from compressed Access databases (MD_)
To convert MD_ databases to another format, you need Microsoft Access or other Compressed software.
To convert other file formats to the "Compressed Database Archive" file type, you need software like Microsoft Access or a similar tool.
An .MD_ file is a compressed version of a legacy Microsoft Access database (MDB). Historically, Microsoft used tools like compress.exe or makecab.exe to shrink files for software distribution on floppy disks or early CD-ROMs. By convention, the final letter of the original extension was replaced with an underscore to indicate compression. Therefore, an .MD_ file is simply an MDB (Jet Database Engine) file packed into a cabinet-style archive.
Working directly with an .MD_ file is frustrating because it is a proprietary, compressed binary format. Standard database management tools, code editors, and modern web browsers cannot read it. It requires extraction before any data can be queried. Furthermore, older MDB structures lack support for modern database features found in .ACCDB or SQL environments, making the extracted data difficult to integrate without legacy software.
To use the data, you must first decompress the file into a standard MDB format. Once extracted, the best conversion targets are open formats like CSV for flat tables, or SQL for migrating the schema and data to modern relational databases. Standard online converters usually fail to process .MD_ files because they do not recognize the legacy compression signature. However, convert.guru provides a pragmatic workaround. Just drag and drop your .MD_ file to see what it is and convert it if supported. If our analysis detects the embedded Jet Database, extraction, viewing, or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your MD_ file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted WS_, LD_ and TB_ files.
If you want to convert MD_ file to ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, GZ, BZ2, XZ, LZMA, CAB, ACE, ARJ or LHA, you can use Microsoft Access or similar software from the "Database File Archive" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert XXE, 7Z, Z, PAK, LHA, DEB, UUE, TAR, LZH, ZIP, PKG or RAR files to MD_, try Microsoft Access or another comparable tool in the "Database File Archive" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our MD_ converter.