I went into the back end file and it said it was in an inconsistent state. It created a backup of itself.  When I tried to go into the copy- it gave the inconsistent state error and created a back up of a backup.  However, now the original back end is fine and the error is gone and everything is working great.  I have been using this DB since january without issue.  Did running compact and repair somehow temporarily destabilize it? I am confused.

Now everything is working fine. I should add that the inconsistent state error in the backend kept repeating itself in every copy- and once it created a backup, the original copy that gave the error would work fine without any error...it was like a weird bipolar loop.

Debra

If I ever have issues the first thing I do is get everyone out and restart all machines.  Don't just shutdown and start back up.
Restart clears all memory and makes Windows reload instead.

If it were me, I would get everyone out of your database and shut it down. Even though it is working now.

Make a back up copy of your both your front end and back end.
Open the BE manually and do the compact and repair.
Same with the FE.
Also, go into your code window and do a debug / compile.

This goes with out saying, but in case you are, you should not be developing in your live database.  You want to be changing and testing out your new items in a DEV copy so that if something does go wrong you can just start over in a new copy.  Once you are sure changes are working OK then move the FE with changes to the working folder.

Key word of the day is Backup your backups!

Additional note:

I just got into work and noticed that MS pushed an update last night.  That could also be an issue.  
If the db was open and "doing its thing" and an update came in in the middle it will goof you up.

Chalk it up to gremlins. For gremlins, look here: Troubleshooter

The health of the PC that stores your back end also needs to be checked regularly.  Hard drive, power supply unit, and any number of hardware components in a PC can fail at any moment.  If the PSU fails, your PC can't even turn on at all.  If your hard drive fails, however partially, your files may be corrupted.  You really need a robust server-type computer to store all your mission-critical data.  It should also have tools that can notify you of failures before they happen.  That type of computers cost thousands, not to mention your time and effort to maintain it.  In my old job, we bought such a machine.  If it were today, I would just put my database on Winhost and save tons of money and effort.  As long as you store your database on your own machine, you always have to worry about your machine failing.

Yeah... Amen to that, Kevin. Back in the early days, I ran my website on my own Windows Server in my home office. I sprang for high-speed Internet with a dedicated IP address, set up IIS and SQL Server myself, all that jazz. Installing security patches and updates alone is a full time job.

And wouldn't you know it... I got hacked by North Korea and had two Air Force officers (in full dress) at my door saying that my server was being used in a DDOS attack against DOD servers. Yes. No shit. This really happened. So ever since then I stick to what I do best (building databases) and I leave the security and the Internet hosting to those experts. Totally worth the $10 / month to have Winhost deal with those problems for me.

BTW: The Air Force guys knew I wasn't responsible and that my server had been hacked, but they wanted me to sign a release form to allow them to tap my connection so they could trace the culprits down. But after that was done, I moved everything to a real ISP.

Wow, that was, I have no words.  So how much down time did that cause?  That's how I would measure how big a mishap is. No matter how many safeguards you have, there are always some catastrophic scenarios for which you have no contingency plans.  Even when your safeguards work, sometimes they don't help.  In my old job, my server would send me a notification when a fault is detected.  But what if it happened in the middle of the night?  I might not want to get out of bed.  And if I waited till the next morning, it might be too late.  My server had hot-swappable parts that could be taken out and replaced while the server was still running.  But I would still have to be physically in front of the server to do so.  If I was home or elsewhere, that feature that we paid so much $$$ for would be totally useless.  That was in the 90s and early 2000s when Internet hosting was not yet a thing.

Yeah this was around 2000 or 2001 - I remember because I was excited to set up the "new" Windows 2000 Server. It didn't cause any downtime for me because the hackers were smart. They didn't mess with any of my stuff to the point where I knew there was a problem. They didn't delete files or corrupt anything. However the process they were able to install would slow the crap out of my website. And they were smart to only run it during off-peak hours. But since I was a nerd running my own business from home, I was often on my site at 2am and couldn't figure out WHY it was running so slow at night, but not during the day. So they knew what they were doing. Made perfect sense when the AF told me I was hacked.

In any case, they installed some monitoring equipment and I dealt with the slowness for the next couple of weeks. Then they came and picked it back up, told me what had happened, and that was that. By that point I had already secured "real" hosting with GoDaddy (that was a big mistake) and just had to move all my stuff over there.

Another moral of the story... don't jump right on the bandwagon for any NEW server software until it's been on the market for at least a couple of years. Let someone ELSE find the problems first! I have no issues upgrading my laptop to the new Windows or upgrading Office but not on a MISSION CRITICAL machine like your server.

Thank you all for your help and words of wisdom!  I do have backups of my front end and back end.  Anytime I make any changes I do so to the admin copy of the front end.  The team has a copy of the front end that does not have admin capabilities (i.e. they cannot mess with the design of forms or table etc.) The team all work remotely, so they each have their front end copies saved on their respective computers. I have my own user-front end on my machine, and the admin copies and back end reside on the company server, which is backed up regularly.  I also maintain backups locally just in case of emergency as well. I think the MS update overnight is what prob caused the glitched.  I ran the repair and compact around 3AM, so for all I know it was right in the middle of that push.