Deploying Jet OleDb Provider

If I'm posting to the wrong forum, please correct me.

I'd like to use an Access database for an application I'm developing for retail sale, and I need to do these things:

Determine during setup if the target machine has the Jet OleDb Provider installed. If so, determine whether the version is adequate. If necessary, install the correct provider.

I don't seem to be able to find any documentation or downloads covering this scenario, however. This seems odd, since I would have imagined the scenario to be rather common.

Has anyone had any successful experience with these issues?

Thanks

Hi,

if you are having a installer package, you can query the registry for the MDAC key which is described and worked for me in many cases here:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=301202

HTH, Jens Suessmeyer.

http://www.sqlserver2005.de

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That looks good, thanks.

Would you happen to know where I can get a redistributable Jet provider? I'm looking here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/data/mdac/downloads/

But all of those are user-initiated setups. You're correct—I'm using an installer.

|||Hi there,

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q257604

HTH, Jens Suessmeyer.

PS: The one included in VS is only to check the existence of MDAC.

http://www.sqlserver2005.de
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Ah, you're the greatest!

|||:-D Nice to hear that. :-D

-Jens.|||

Say, tell me... did you look those articles up specifically for this thread, or did you already have them on hand.

The reason I ask is because of the cumbersome task of sifting through the KB. I know I probably shouldn't, but lately I've pretty much given up on trying to find anything useful there among the myriad of articles that don't apply to the issue I'm looking for.

You must be pretty good at it.

|||Thats something in the middle, for the most cases I ran into the same problems / issues like the posters. Knowing the *right* keywords from my experience its easy to find the right articles on the internet.

-jens.|||

Ah, I see. Makes sense.

Tell me—since clearly you've already fought this battle—do you have your programs install MDAC in order to support Access, or do you instead opt for the OleDb provider?

The reason I ask is, according to my research on the subject, MDAC stopped including it after version 2.5. In fact, the second KB article you referred me to (thanks again) discusses MDAC only, and not OleDb.

That said, have you even been able to find a silent install for the standalone OleDb provider?

Thanks.