PRB: Localization of ODBC Driver Causes Duplicate ODBC Driver Entries

ID: Q247810

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Data Access Components versions 1.5, 2.0, 2.1, 2.1 (GA), 2.1 SP1, 2.1 SP2, 2.5
Microsoft Open Database Connectivity, version 3.7

SYMPTOMS

In the ODBC Data Source Administrator, you see two versions of a Microsoft ODBC driver: a standard version and a localized version.
An example of two versions of the Microsoft ODBC driver for Oracle, using the French localized version, is shown here:

Microsoft ODBC for Oracle
Microsoft ODBC pour Oracle

CAUSE

Versions 1.5 and 2.0 of MDAC install localized as well as non-localized versions of Microsoft ODBC drivers. Upon upgrading to a later version of MDAC, the localized entries remain in the system registry.

RESOLUTION

Avoid using the localized ODBC driver entries.

MORE INFORMATION

Versions 1.5 and 2.0 of MDAC installed localized versions of Microsoft ODBC drivers for the following languages:

German
French
Spanish
Italian
Swedish
Dutch
Brazilian
Danish
Finnish
Czech
Russian

Attempting to connect using a localized driver in an ODBC connection string fails on a system that does not have the localized driver installed. However, every system that has MDAC installed has the non-localized drivers installed. For this reason, only the non-localized driver should be used in ODBC connection strings and for ODBC data sources. The non-localized driver has an English name, such as this:

Microsoft ODBC Driver for Oracle

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbGrpVBDB kbGrpMDAC kbDSupport kbMDAC250fix
Version : WINDOWS:1.5,2.0,2.1,2.1 (GA),2.1 SP1,2.1 SP2,2.5,3.7
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb