SQL Server Linked Server to Microsoft Access

linked-server, ms-access, oledb, sql-server, t-sql

Solution

Have you tried with named parameters?:

EXEC sp_addlinkedserver 
   @server = 'access1t', 
   @provider = 'Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0', 
   @srvproduct = 'OLE DB Provider for Jet',
   @datasrc =  'C:\tester.mdb'
GO

It may be you just need your server name in single quotes `'access1t'`.

[ Does your logged in user have permission to access the root of C: drive? ]

Problem

I have tried to make use of linked servers in SQL Server 2008 by doing the following to access a Microsoft Access 2003 Table. ``` EXEC sp_addlinkedserver access1t, 'OLE DB Provider for Jet', 'Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0', 'C:\tester.mdb' EXEC sp_addlinkedsrvlogin access1t, FALSE, Null, Admin, Null GO CREATE VIEW TI001APCE1265 AS SELECT * FROM access1t...Table1 ``` However, I get the error: ``` OLE DB provider "Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0" for linked server "access1t" returned message "Unspecified error". Msg 7303, Level 16, State 1, Procedure TI001APCE1265, Line 1 Cannot initialize the data source object of OLE DB provider "Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0" for linked server "access1t". ``` There is no password/username on my access database but looking at the documents I understood I had to use the sp_addlinkedsrvlogin like the above. I have tried it without a login either. Bit I still get the same error - what is going?! Thanks all Debug Output Array ( [0] => Array ( [0] => 42000 [SQLSTATE] => 42000 [1] => 7303 [code] => 7303 [2] => [Microsoft][SQL Server Native Client 10.0][SQL Server]Cannot initialize the data source object of OLE DB provider "Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0" for linked server "access1265293168". [message] => [Microsoft][SQL Server Native Client 10.0][SQL Server]Cannot initialize the data source object of OLE DB provider "Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0" for linked server "access1265293168". ) [1] => Array ( [0] => 01000 [SQLSTATE] => 01000 [1] => 7412 [code] => 7412 [2] => [Microsoft][SQL Server Native Client 10.0][SQL Server]OLE DB provider "Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0" for linked server "access1265293168" returned message "Unspecified error". [message] => [Microsoft][SQL Server Native Client 10.0][SQL Server]OLE DB provider "Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0" for linked server "access1265293168" returned message "Unspecified error". ) )

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