Good questions....

> Are directory and files visible and R/W-available for the currently
> logged-in user? iow, rights ok?

looks like it--read/write for everyone. security rights for everyone.
(But would that cause this type of error?)

> If you try to rename the databasefile, can you? If not it is in use
> by another process and embedded cannot use it.

Logged in as the same user as the app is, I renamed the DB just fine,
same error message when starting the app. Made a copy, deleted the
original, worked fine.

> Could it be the database is on a compressed volume?

It's in '...\All users\Application data\...' on a Windows XP machine.
COuld not find anything about compression.

> Could it be a virus scanner is checking the database?

I can delete the file.

> Does the database have a .gdb extension?

.FDB extension

> Is the database on the same machine? I guess so, but just to rule
> out possibilities...

Yes.

> Can you connect to the database with a tool like FlameRobin (on the
> same machine) ?

I tried FlameRobin locally before trying it on his machine, I could
not get it to work with an embedded database.

> Just a few guesses...

Much appreciated, but nothing obvious.

Ed Dessel