One of the downsides of Access is the amount of hardware resources it requires. The requirements for a developer are different from those for an end user, so I have broken the system requirements into two parts. As you read through these requirements, be sure to note actual versus recommended requirements.
According to Microsoft documentation, these are the
official minimum requirements to run Microsoft Access 11:
Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows 2003 operating system
64MB of RAM (128MB recommended); 8MB of additional RAM for each application running concurrently with MS Access
245MB of free hard disk space; 115MB on the hard disk where the operating system is installed
CD-ROM drive
As if all that hardware isn't enough, my personal recommendations for a development machine are much higher, because you'll probably be running other applications along with Microsoft Access. You also want to greatly reduce the chance of hanging or other problems caused by low memory conditions. I recommend the following for a development machine (in addition to Microsoft's requirements):
P5 90MHz processor or higher
512MB of RAM if possible
A high-resolution monitorthe larger the better
CAUTION
If you're developing on a high-resolution monitor, you should design your forms so that they will display properly on the lowest common denominator monitor. Although you can take advantage of the high resolution in your development endeavors, don't forget that many of your users might be running your application at a lower resolution.
The bottom line for hardware is the more, the better. You just can't have enough memory or hard drive capacity. The more you have, the happier you will be using Access.
Although the user's PC doesn't need to be as sophisticated as the developer's, I still recommend the following in addition to Microsoft's requirements:
Pentium III or higher processor
128MB of RAM, and 256MB if your application supports OLE, or your user will be running your application along with other programs