I have encountering issues connecting to Excel via ODBC

Question

I have ran ODBC 64-bit as administrator. I have added a new connection with the SystemDSN tab. I then click on Microsoft Excel Driver. In the Dialog I enter the datasource name, description and click on select Workbook and choose my Office 365 Excel 64 bit file. I select version Excel 12.0 from the dropdown. I click ok and the dialog disappears with no errors but the new connection does not appear in the System DSN list. Can anyone advise what I am missing please?

Answer 1

Dear @Jalur Wahyudi,

Good day! Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum!

Thank you for providing the details.

To help narrow down the cause, could you please confirm:

• Which version of Windows are you using?
• Is your Microsoft 365 installation 32-bit or 64-bit?
• Do you see both **Microsoft Excel Driver (*.xls,.xlsx,.xlsm,.xlsb) and *Microsoft Access Driver (.mdb,.accdb) listed under the Drivers tab?

According to Microsoft documentation (About Drivers and Data Sources & Managing Data Sources), User DSNs and System DSNs are separate data source types and are managed through their respective tabs in ODBC Data Source Administrator. Microsoft also notes that separate 32-bit and 64-bit ODBC Administrator tools are used to manage 32-bit and 64-bit drivers. Could you confirm whether you're using the same ODBC Administrator instance when creating and reviewing the DSN, and whether the issue also occurs when creating a User DSN?

Additionally, if the issue persists, please kindly try:

• Creating a DSN using a newly created local Excel workbook
• Closing and reopening ODBC Data Source Administrator after saving the DSN
• Running an Online Repair of Microsoft 365
• Confirming whether the Microsoft Access Database Engine / ACE drivers are installed correctly, as issues with the Excel ODBC driver registration have been reported in similar scenarios

In addition to the checks above, I found a similar case in the Microsoft Q&A community where another user reported that the DSN was not being created successfully, despite no error message being displayed. They indicated that reinstalling Microsoft Access Database Engine (AccessDatabaseEngine_x64) resolved the issue in their environment. Could you kindly try it and let me know if it works for your environment?

If possible, please share a screenshot of the Drivers tab and the System DSN tab after attempting to save the connection. This will help determine whether the issue is related to the driver, permissions, or DSN registration.

Kindly let me know when there are updates or if you need further assistance. Any updates you’re able to share would be really helpful.

I'm here and happy to help! Thank you for your kindness and patience! 

Answer 2

What is missing is most likely the DSN type and driver behavior.

Supported facts from the documentation:

1. Excel/ODBC connections can use different DSN types ODBC supports User DSN, System DSN, and File DSN. User and System DSNs are stored in the registry, while File DSNs are stored in a text file.
2. Bitness must match On 64-bit Windows, 64-bit and 32-bit ODBC administrators are separate. If a 32-bit driver is being configured with the 64-bit ODBC administrator, the DSN can fail because of an architecture mismatch. The documented symptom is: The specified DSN contains an architecture mismatch between the Driver and Application
3. There is a known Microsoft 365 / Access Database Engine limitation Microsoft documents that with the version of ACE included with Microsoft 365 Apps, Machine DSNs cannot be created. A System DSN is a machine DSN. Microsoft also notes that File DSNs may show a save message issue even when they are created successfully.

Based on that, the most likely reason the DSN disappears after clicking OK is that the Excel/ACE driver from Microsoft 365 is not creating a System DSN in that environment.

Recommended path:

1. Open the correct ODBC administrator for the driver bitness.
   • 64-bit driver: ODBC Data Sources (64-bit)
   • 32-bit driver: ODBC Data Sources (32-bit)
2. Try creating a User DSN instead of a System DSN. Microsoft’s documented setup steps for Office data connections use User DSN creation.
3. If a reusable/shared definition is needed, try a File DSN. Microsoft documents File DSNs as more flexible because they are stored in a text file and can be copied to other computers with the correct driver.
4. If the issue is specifically with the Access Database Engine / Office ODBC components, make sure Office is updated. Microsoft states a related ACE ODBC issue was fixed in Version 2009 (Build 16.0.13231.20262) and later.
5. If the DSN still does not appear, verify that the Excel driver and ODBC administrator are the same architecture. On 64-bit Windows:
   • 32-bit ODBC admin manages 32-bit drivers
   • 64-bit ODBC admin manages 64-bit drivers

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References:

• How data journeys through Excel
• Managing Data Sources
• Error "The operating system is not presently configured to run this application" when trying to use Access Database Engine ODBC interfaces
• Connect to an ODBC Data Source (SQL Server Import and Export Wizard)