I didnt write the original program, and -1 worked in SQL2000, so god only knows. I've been brought in to get the app working. And since i've had little experience with VB6, i started out in .net there has been a learning curve...but i'm getting it. The plot thickens though i was able to get the comboboxes populate correctly setting it "=1" but here's the odd thing the -1 was returning the true state in the original program, so i dont know whether to just accept it and move on, or to figure out why the logic all seems backwards for my own peace of mind. Thanks for the help though guys i really appreciate it. I'm going to leave this unresolved for a little longer, the app is currently being put through its paces so i'm going to wait until they confirm it's fixed in operation i was working on a virtualization of their new domain as a safe environ, its on their main system today.