Redistributing MDAC 2.8 SP1
Windows Data Access Components (Windows DAC) 6.0 is included in Windows Vista. It is not distributed separately and cannot be redistributed. Similarly, Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.8 was included with Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. However, there is also a redistributable version of MDAC, MDAC 2.8 Service Pack (SP) 1. This topic provides information about redistributing MDAC 2.8 SP1. Note that this redistributable version should only be installed on Windows 2000. It should not be installed on any later versions of the data access components.
Each release of MDAC includes a matched set of modules. These modules were tested together when Microsoft released them. The interdependencies of the modules are complex; they must all be distributed as a set. Although it is tempting to try to distribute only the modules for the components that you think your application may need, there is no supported way to do that. Other applications will use MDAC components, and if they are not part of the same released set, the applications will probably crash.
Note
Each release of MDAC includes a license agreement, which gives you specific rights to redistribute some of the files in MDAC. This article does not change the terms of the license agreements in any way.
MDAC 2.8 SP1 includes a redistributable Setup program, in the file mdac_typ.exe. This program is a self-extracting compressed file that installs the run-time components onto a workstation.
The ADO components (including RDS) and some OLE DB modules require administrator privileges on Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows XP to install and register correctly.
See the Microsoft Data Access and Storage Developer Center Web site for more information about redistributing MDAC 2.8 SP1.
Avoiding a Restart
The redistributable MDAC 2.8 SP1 Setup will sometimes require the workstation to be restarted to complete its installation. Sometimes, however, you may be able to avoid restarting the workstation. Shutting down applications and services that are using MDAC components will minimize the possibility that the redistributable Setup will try to restart the workstation to complete the installation.
When the MDAC 2.8 SP1 Setup program is run, it tries to detect if any of the files it will be installing are being used and raise a dialog to inform the user of this. This will allow the user to try and shut down those applications in order to try to reduce the need for a reboot.
The procedures for shutting down applications are generally obvious and simple. However, shutting down system services, which are applications that run in a special context for the operating system, is not as obvious or intuitive. Use the Services applet in the Windows Control Panel to shut down running services. There are several services that may use MDAC components and should be stopped in order to install the MDAC components without restarting the workstation. For example, Internet Information Services (IIS), Component Services (formerly Microsoft Transaction Services MTS), and Microsoft SQL Server are all services that may use MDAC components.
If the redistributable MDAC 2.8 SP1 Setup is being run as part of a larger installation, see the following section titled "Silent Setup," which shows the command switches used to prevent Setup from restarting the workstation immediately. Notice that this does not eliminate the potential need to restart the workstation; if you do prevent Setup from restarting the workstation, you should assume that the installation will not be complete until the workstation is restarted.
The MDAC 2.8 SP1 Setup has several modes to customize installation.
Standard Setup
Standard setup is the recommended mode. This mode emphasizes the fact that the user's system is being upgraded and offers the option to end the installation if it is necessary. A Setup may also involve restarting the computer, and this method gives users maximum control over the timing of the restart.
To run Setup in standard mode, execute mdac_typ.exe without command-line parameters. This will display all necessary user interface dialog boxes to let the user install MDAC 2.8 SP1.
Setup will extract all the files in mdac_typ.exe to the user's TEMP directory. From there, it will run the Setup program dasetup.exe. The Setup program will display the license agreement, which the user must accept to continue. Then the user will have two options: either select a complete installation of MDAC or exit the Setup program. After the files are copied, the user will be notified if the workstation must be restarted. The user can choose to restart immediately or wait until later.
File Extraction
In this mode, MDAC 2.8 SP1 Setup merely extracts all the files in mdac_typ.exe to a folder and then exits. It does not install MDAC. To run Setup in file extraction mode, use the following syntax at the command prompt:
mdac_typ /C /T:<full path>
For example, to extract all the files in mdac_typ.exe to the folder "C:\MDAC FILES", use the following command:
mdac_typ /C /T:"C:\MDAC FILES"
You do not have to create the folder before extracting files to it. Setup will create the folder for you if it does not exist.
This is also not a "silent" setup; all the files will be copied to the folder provided. The user will see a window indicating that the files are being copied. After the files are all copied, all processing stops and no setup is run.
Logging
Setup will create a log file in the Windows root directory. This file is DASETUP.LOG it details the actions that Setup ran and the result of the setup.
Silent Setup
This mode installs MDAC with almost no visible user interface at all. This mode should be used only as part of a larger application Setup program that can handle any problems that may occur during installation. To run Setup in silent mode, use the following command:
mdac_typ /Q:A /C:"dasetup /Q"
If you need to prevent the Setup from restarting the workstation, use this command:
mdac_typ /Q:A /C:"dasetup /Q /N"
You can also run a silent Setup that will raise a dialog if Setup finds any MDAC files that are used with this command (if any MDAC files are being used by a system process, the files in-use dialog box will not appear):
mdac_typ /Q:A /C:"dasetup /Q:D /N"
This command will allow the user to shut down the applications and possibly avoid the need for a reboot. It will completely install MDAC but will not restart the workstation. A restart may be required to complete the installation, so the larger application Setup program should restart when it has completed its setup.
The Knowledge Base article KB307255 - INFO: Component Checker: Diagnose Problems and Reconfigure MDAC Installations also has information about options that you can use with the MDAC Setup program.
Manual Setup
We do not recommend or support manual setup of the MDAC files. Use only the redistributable program mdac_typ.exe to distribute MDAC, to comply with the license agreement.
ODBC Notes
Generally, it is safe to mix and match ODBC drivers with ODBC Driver Manager/Core Components. You should make sure that the ODBC Driver Manager is more recent than the ODBC drivers, even though the product group tries to make sure that the ODBC Driver Manager and Microsoft ODBC drivers are backward compatible.