Is it possible to update a dataset from a different form that "owns" the dataset? I dont want to recreate the dataset just to update it, that seems kind of risky.

YOu could declare the dataset inside a class.
then in your Form declare the class as Public Shared,
then access the dataset from the class through the form
that declared the class... if that makes sense to you

Cheers

Yeah actually thats exactly what I did.