Could not find installable ISAM.

Question

I got the "Could Not  find installable ISAM error" while uploading an Excel file in my application.  The connection string uses the Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0 provider with following parameters Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Excel 8.0;
Extended Properties=HDR=No; IMEX=1.

 I checked the registry entries  as mentioned in the "Retrieving Data from Excell 2003-Could Not Find installable ISAM" post and even registered the "Msexcl40.dll" again. Even then I got the "Could Not  find installable ISAM error". So I restarted the IIS Server. Even then the problem persists. What else could be the problem? 

 

Thanks and Regards,

Little

Answer 1

This error will also be generated when the syntax of the connection string is incorrect. This commonly occurs when using multiple Extended Properties parameters. Below is an example:

ConnectionString = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;" & _
"Data Source=e:\My Documents\Book20.xls;Extended Properties=""Excel 8.0;HDR=NO;IMEX=1"""

Answer 2

If the dll's are registered properly and the connection string is in proper format but both providers Micosoft.Jet.oledb Versions 4.0 and 3.51 are present on the Server could this cause the problem.

Thanks and Regards,

Little

Answer 3

You can have multiple versions of the Jet OLEDB provider installed. Could you post the exact syntax of your connection string?

Answer 4

The connection string is of the format:

"Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Excel 8.0; Extended Properties=HDR=No; IMEX=1;Data Source=" & App.Path & "\..\Upload " & "ExcelFileName & ".xls"

where ExcelFileName is the name of the Excel file.

Thanks & Regards,

Little

Answer 5

I see some problems with the syntax. Try the following instead:

ConnectionString = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=" App.Path & "\..\Upload" & ExcelFileName & ".xls" & ";Extended Properties=""Excel 8.0;HDR=NO;IMEX=1"""

I'm assuming your data source is correct, although I can't tell by looking at your connection string whether ExcelFileName is preceded by a back slash. In any event, the Extended Properties argument would not be evaluated properly in the example you posted.

Answer 6

The ExcelFileName in the connection string contains the backslash and the excel filename.

The connection string posted by me does not cause any trouble in the development server but causes error "Cannot find installable ISAM" in the uat server where some service packs and hotfixes have been installed. Right now I don't know which ones. But I found that the version of the "Msjet40.dll" in development server is "4.0.8618.0" while that in uat server is "4.0.9025.0". Can this cause the problem?

Thanks and Regards,

Little

Answer 7

OK, well I copied and pasted the connection string you posted and can't execute it because there is a syntax error, so you must be using something that's different.

Assuming that it runs fine on one system and not another I would say that you definitely have a configuration problem with respect to Jet and the Excel ISAM driver. What account did you log on to the server with when you re-registered the Excel ISAM driver?

Answer 8

Logged in as the Server administrator and re-registered the "msexcl40.dll". Will reinstalling MDAC 2.8 help?

Thanks and Regards,

Little

Answer 9

Which version of the Windows OS are you using?

Answer 10

We are using Windows 2000 Server SP4 Update RollUp1 , MDAC version 2.8 and the Microsoft Jet 4.0 Database Engine that comes with SP4 Update RollUp1.

We tried reinstalling MDAC and restarted the Server. But that doesn't solve the problem.

Thanks and Regards,

Little

Answer 11

The Excel ISAM is actually intalled with Jet so I wouldn't expect an MDAC fix to resolve the issue.

Have you checked for multiple versions of Msexcl40.dll? I believe the version that your installation should be using is 4.0.9025.0.

Answer 12

The version of Msexcl40.dll is 4.0.9025.0. Will reinstalling the Jet component make a difference?

Thanks & Regards,

Little

Answer 13

If you can back out the update rollup you can try re-installing. Otherwise it may tell you that the latest version is already installed.

I seem to recall there was a way to resolve this issue through an Office install fix as well, but I'm assuming that you don't have Office installed on this machine.

Answer 14

Office is not installed on this machine. If Office was present on the machine and uninstalled could this cause the problem.

Is there any other way to read an Excel file besides using the Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0 provider?

Thanks and Regards,

Little

Answer 15

There is an option in the Microsoft Office setup to install the ISAM database drivers. If I remember correctly, by default it's disabled, but this is an option for installing the drivers. 

If Office is installed I believe the fix is to use the repair option (Control Panel...Add/Remove Programs...Microsoft Office...) if there is a problem with the ISAM drivers.

You could also try the Excel ODBC driver if it is installed. You can verify whether it is installed using the Data Sources (ODBC) applet under Administrative Tools in Control Panel.

For the Excel ODBC driver you would need to use the .NET ODBC namespace instead of .NET OLEDB. You can find a connection string example at http://www.connectionstrings.com.

 

Answer 16

I am using Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0 Provider within a VB dll to read an excel file and convert it into an xml file that is used for data upload. Is there any other way to read an excel file in VB and ASP.

 

Thanks & Regards,

Little

Answer 17

The Microsoft Jet OLEDB Provider only supports the Excel ISAM. As I mentioned in my previous post you can use the Excel ODBC driver but you would need to switch to the .NET ODBC library. 

Answer 18

Hi, I am having the same maddening problem (currently prototyping on my personal machine) and it seems I have all the proper dll set-up, and I have tried so many different versions of the string it's unbelievable!  Here's what I currently have...is there some sort of different format needed when coding in C#?

 

("Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OleDb.4.0;data source=C:\\ExportTest.xls;Extended Properties=Excel 8.0;HDR=Yes;");

Answer 19

Couple of ways to handle the syntax problem. Below is one method:

ConnectionString = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;" +

"Data Source=C:\\ExportTest.xls;" +

"Extended Properties=" + (char)34 + "Excel 8.0;HDR=Yes;" + (char)34;

Answer 20

Thanks much for your reply...I used this:

OleDbConnection dbConnection = new OleDbConnection();

dbConnection="Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;" +

"Data Source=C:\\ExportTest.xls;" +

"Extended Properties=" +

(char)34 +

"Excel 8.0;HDR=Yes;" + (char)34;

And then I get this error:  (pointing to the first of the '+' signs):

Error 1 Cannot implicitly convert type 'string' to 'System.Data.OleDb.OleDbConnection' C:\Visual Studio 2005\WebSites\Import_Export_Test\Import.aspx.cs 72 38 C:\...\Import_Export_Test\

I am rather new to .Net after a 3 year hiatus, coming from good ol' ASP...but this is really frustrating...it's not all this picky, is it? 

Answer 21

dbConnection is defined as an OleDbConnection object and not a string. You need to assign the connection string value to the ConnectionString property of this object:

dbConnection.ConnectionString="Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;" +

"Data Source=C:\\ExportTest.xls;" +

"Extended Properties=" +

(char)34 +

"Excel 8.0;HDR=Yes;" + (char)34;

Answer 22

Yes, thanks!  And now, I get this:

 

External table is not in the expected format.

 

Could it be that we have Excel 11.x version?

Answer 23

Are you certain these are true Excel Workbook files? For example, if you open the file in Excel, perform a Save As to a new file (using the Workbook XLS format) and then open that file using the code, do you still encounter the error? Are there any objects embedded in the Workbook?

I'm not aware of any issues opening an 11.0 version file using the Jet 4.0 OLEDB Provider.

Answer 24

Yes, thank you.  I found in a different post that very issue, we will have to ensure our users 'Save As' to Excel prior to importing, because the Export actually ends up putting the file in HTM. format.

 

Thanks!

Answer 25

Hi Clement,

I have gone through all your replies related to this issue and I am able to solve mine. Thanks a lot.

One interesting issue I observed in my system is that I have two entries under HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Jet\4.0\Engines\Excel, which are Win32 and Win32old. Win32old is pointing to C:\WINDOWS\system32\msexcl40.dll, whereas Win32 is pointing to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\msaexp30.dll. Out of curiosity, what diffrence does these two have?

I have another issue related to this and I though you would be the right person to ask...

In the excel I am trying to read has a listbox with states & counties listed. Based on the selection, when we run a macro, some of the values in other sheets are going to get changed. I need to pass desired state & county from my asp.net (C#) page and then collect the updated information in the other pages after running the macro. My main problem is how to access or pass values to excel list box?

Thanks & your help is very much appreciated.

Murali Krishna K

Answer 26

Msexcl40.dll and msaexp30.dll are two different files that perform different functions. Msaexp30.dll is the Microsoft Expression Evaluator and doesn't really have anything to do with accessing an Excel Workbook.

I'm not sure if I understand your second question. Web applications don't typically interact with desktop applications, such as Excel, unless they are running client side script (e.g. JavaScript, VBScript, etc.). Are you actually trying to plug values into an Excel Workbook, running on the desktop, from an ASP.NET application?

Answer 27

Paul:

I am experiencing a similar problem. Here is a copy of part of my post on Experts Exchange:

I have been working on this for 8+ hours. It should be simple and I can't get it to work. I am trying to connect to an uploaded Excel file using a Microsoft Excel driver.

For MANY hours I was receiving the following error:

Microsoft OLE DB Provider for ODBC Drivers (0x80004005)
[Microsoft][ODBC Microsoft Access Driver]General error Unable to open
registry key 'Temporary (volatile) Jet DSN for process 0x9ac Thread 0xa0c
DBC 0x15d1024 Jet'.

I looked through dozens of links and finally ran across one that mentioned checking the registry for:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SOFTWARE -> MICROSOFT -> JET -> 4.0 -> ENGINES -> EXCEL

There was an entry called win32 which contained: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\msaexp30.dll

There was an entry called win32old which contained:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\msexcl40.dll

I installed MS Access 2003 on this web server about a year ago and I have a feeling that is when the new entry was created and the win32 was renamed to win32 old.  Taking the corrective action of reassigning win32 to C:\WINDOWS\system32\msexcl40.dll allowed me to progress and get the next error.

I have done some additional tracking of this issue.

When  I change the registry to the msexcl40.dll value and attempt to start Access on the server, it goes through a brief Access installation process and resets the value of the registry to msaexp30.dll. After this happens, my Excel text driver stops working again.

The problem is narrowed down quite a bit and it looks like I might need some high level help to resolve what I am considering to be a bug.

Thoughts?

Answer 28

Can you post an example of the connection string you are using?

Answer 29

Paul:

Thanks for finding this thread again :)

I have probably tried 15 different connection strings. None work as long as the registry value of msaexp30.dll is used. When I replace the value with msaexcl40.dll almost every connection string works.

Both of these connection strings works as long as the msaexcl40.dll value is in the registry.

objConn.Open "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;" & "Data Source=" & strFilePath & ";" & "Extended Properties=""Excel 8.0;HDR=No;ImportMixedTypes=Text;IMEX=1"""

'objConn.Open "Driver={Microsoft Excel Driver (*.xls)};DBQ="&strFilePath&";"

Again, the msaexp30.dll appears to have been installed when I installed Access 2003 on the server. It also replaces the msaexl40.dll value every time I open an Access file on the server (via remote desktop).

Right now I am changing the registry value back every time I open Access on the server. This is quite inconvenient as I need to open an Access file regularly on the server.

Answer 30

It looks like Microsoft disabled the Access to Excel linking technology in Office 2003 SP2 because of a court decision based upon a long running patent infringement lawsuit:

http://news.com.com/Patent+ruling+costs+Microsoft+8.9+million/2100-1007_3-5735432.html
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=904953

Unfortunately, the method they chose to do this (which is rather cheesy if you ask me) also broke the data access technology which relies on the same ISAM driver method. They have configured Microsoft Access to update the ISAM reference to point to the expression evaluator library (which of course is invalid when using the Jet library).

I will check to see if there is a workaround for this. You could probably create a simple script that changes the registry entry to enable data access support for Excel but that may not be the best solution.

 

Answer 31

Paul:

Yes, I ran across those links in my hours of research. I wondered if that might be the case. I do have Access 2003 SP2 installed on the server. I do have access to Access 2007, but don't relish uploading such a new product (never mind uploading the several hundred MB installation file _again_).

Let me know if you find a workaround.

It looks like I'll be researching the script idea. I'm betting that I can't update the registry via Classic ASP...or if I could I would be opening a pretty big security hole.

Thanks for your post.

Answer 32

Ouch. Yeah if the app is Classic ASP I could see how this would be a problem.

Oddly enough I don't see the behavior you described with Office 2007. The ISAM reference in the Registry is correct and does not need to be changed.

I'll have to check Office 2003 SP2 to see what's going on. AFAIK, the ADO/Jet/Excel ISAM functionality should not be disabled. As a matter of fact you should still be able to link to Excel Worksheets through Access, but not update them (as the MS KB article stated).

 

Answer 33

Any follow-up on this because I have the same problem and can't find any solution?

 

Answer 34

hello clement,

i got the same error,but in my project i used to open two excel files with the help of oledb.jet 4.0

i got that "Could not find installable ISAM.microsoft jet database engine" error when i used to open first

connection it dnt shows any error but when i open the consecutive connection  it shows the above error

why i got like that.my code is like that

 

Excel.Application App1;

Excel.Workbook WB;

Excel.Workbooks WB1;

Excel.Range Rng;

Excel.Sheets Sht;

Excel.Worksheet Wsheet;

App1=null;

WB=null;

WB1=null;

Sht=null;

Wsheet=null;

Object objOpt=System.Reflection.Missing.Value;

Object Exc=Name2;

App1=new Excel.Application();

WB1=(Excel.Workbooks)App1.Workbooks;

WB = (Excel.Workbook)(WB1.Add(objOpt));

Sht=(Excel.Sheets)WB.Worksheets;

Wsheet = (Excel.Worksheet)(Sht.get_Item(1));

// It dnt shows error

string Connectionstring=@"Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0; Data Source=" + txtFile1.Text.Trim() + ";Extended _Properties=\"Excel 8.0;HDR=NO;\"";

OleDbConnection conn=new OleDbConnection(Connectionstring);

conn.Open();

string cmnd="select * from [Sheet1$]";

OleDbCommand cmd=new OleDbCommand(cmnd,conn);

OleDbDataAdapter adap=new OleDbDataAdapter();

OleDbDataReader reader;

reader=cmd.ExecuteReader();

 

string connectionstring1=@"Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0; Data Source=" + txtFile2.Text.Trim() + ";Extended _Properties=\"Excel8.0;HDR=NO\"";

Properties=Excel8.0;";

OleDbConnection conn1=new OleDbConnection(connectionstring1);

if(conn1.State!=ConnectionState.Open)

//In that line wehn i open a connection it shows error "Could not find installable ISAM.microsoft jet database engine"

conn1.Open();

 

Answer 35

hello friends,

sorry for my previous post i found that there was an error in the connection string ie excel8.0 instead of excel 8.0

that make the problem.

Regards

Prathap

 

Answer 36

Hi Paul and other friends,

 

My problem is a bit different from what you guys have posted above. But I get the same error and while searching in google got the above chain.

 

First of all, I am using Access 2003. The connection string is the same one which Paul mentioned in earlier posts. The only difference is I use a .MDB file instead of a .XLS file.

In my web application, when I try to read the data from the db, I do not face any problem. But when I try to INSERT some data it gives me "Could not find installable ISAM". The only difference between Reading connection string and Writing connection string is "ReadOnly=1". Please help me if you guys know about this. Thanks in advance.

 

Regards,

Sharmin Jose

Answer 37

 

hello guys....i v got a similar problem. In my case im trying to upload data from an excell into SQL2000 but then there's a catch....it works fine in 3 machines but this through the 'installable' error for 6 other machines. In some machines this can be fixe by placing the excell in the root directory ...i.e wwwroot or project folder, but you cant expect the clint to do so for each excell he uploads......so i am pretty much stuck at this......any help is appreciated...thanks in advance guys.......

Answer 38

While defining the Extended property , if the parameter is more than one, then please keep all the parameter inthe quote(in case of C#);
e.g
 strConnectionString =@"Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source="+strDirName+"\\"+strFileName+";Extended Properties='Excel 8.0;HDR=NO'";

 

 

I hope that wil solve your problem

Answer 39

Thanks for the reply.......but what worked fo me is the one below :

 

@"provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source="+strPath+";Extended Properties=\"Excel 8.0;HDR=NO;IMEX=1\"";

 

I dunno how but it worked, and what idid not work  was

@"provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source="+strPath+";Extended Properties=Excel 8.0;HDR=NO;IMEX=1";

 

But then there lies another complication, why in the world did the second link work on some pc's and not on some other......

Answer 40

I had this "Could not find installable ISAM" error and found that it was being thrown when I supplied some extended properties to the provider string. I found the problem to occur only when supplying HDR or IMEX extended properties (as defined at http://www.connectionstrings.com/?carrier=excel).

 

My goal was to retrieve an Excel 2003 worksheet into SQL 2005 Express using SQL Server Management Studio Express. A quick point to note is that Ad Hoc Queries are disabled by default, that means the OPENROWSET doesn't work by default unless the server is reconfigured, hence what I'm doing before and after the query.

 

Code Snippet

sp_configure 'Show Advanced Options', 1;

RECONFIGURE

sp_configure 'Ad Hoc Distributed Queries', 1;

RECONFIGURE

 

SELECT * FROM OPENROWSET('Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0',

'Excel 8.0;HDR=No;IMEX=1;Database=C:\SpreadSheet1.xls',

[Sheet1$])

 

sp_configure 'Show Advanced Options', 0;

RECONFIGURE

sp_configure 'Ad Hoc Distributed Queries', 0;

RECONFIGURE

 

 

Notice that there is no mention of "Extended Properties=", which seemed to be causing the issue!

 

Hope that helps,

Answer 41

It is because of multiple extended properties. Use something like:

 

For c#:

String sConnectionString = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;" +

"Data Source=" + fileName + ";Extended Properties=\"Excel 8.0;HDR=NO\"";

 

Answer 42

I think most of the times the error refers to a wrong ODBC Connection String:

a correct template:

"Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OleDb.4.0;data source=[FILE_PATH];Extended Properties=Excel 8.0;"

Answer 43

 

correct the connection stirng or some parameter to remvoe this error.

Answer 44

I am trying to upload the csv file into SQL Server 2008. OS I am using is Vista and Office 2007. It is also giving me ISAM error. I have gone to Administrator Tools and Added ODBC driver into the list but no help. Could you tell me what I need to next?

 

Here is my code:

string fileName = DateTime.Today.ToString("yyyyMMdd") + "isolf.csv";

//StringBuilder path= new StringBuilder();

Console.WriteLine(fileName);

//string path = "C:\\Users\\localhost\\Documents\\";

OleDbConnection DBConnection = new OleDbConnection(@"Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:\\Users\\localhost\\Documents\\" + fileName + ";" + @" Extended Properties=Text;HDR=YES;FMT=Delimited;IMEX=1");

DBConnection.Open();

string SQLString = "SELECT * FROM fileName";

OleDbCommand DBCommand = new OleDbCommand(SQLString, DBConnection);

IDataReader DBReader = DBCommand.ExecuteReader();

while (DBReader.Read())

{

NYISO_ISOLF ni = new NYISO_ISOLF(); // it is structure object

ni.Capitl = DBReader.GetValue(1).ToString();

Console.WriteLine(ni.Capitl);

Console.ReadLine();

DBReader.NextResult();

}

DBReader.Close();

DBConnection.Close();

Answer 45

The filename does not belong in the connection string - it's specified in the SQL statement. You only need to specify the path where the file is located in the connection string.

 

Answer 46

I am getting this error when I test a web page built using Visual Web Developer 2008 Express on Vista.  I am attempting to access data in an Excel spreadsheet.  I have pored over this thread and others trying to see what I might be doing wrong.  I have repaired Outlook and confirmed that the Jet 4.0 dll is present.  I use the code below.  On my web page I display the contents of the cs and ss I am using, they are:

 

cs:  Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:[path][fn].xls;ExtendedProperties="Excel 8.0;HDR=Yes"

 

ss:  SELECT * FROM [Sheet1$]

 

DataSet postSet = new DataSet();

OleDbConnection conn = new OleDbConnection();

conn.ConnectionString = cs;

try

{

OleDbCommand cmd = new OleDbCommand(ss, conn);

try

{

OleDbDataAdapter adapter = new OleDbDataAdapter(cmd);

try

{

adapter.Fill(postSet);

catch (Exception e)

{

oleFillMsg = e.Message;

postSetFilled = false;

}

...

 

I am going crazy with this thing.

 

Help!

 

Answer 47

Could you post the exact connection string code? Even the smallest error in syntax can cause this error to occur.

Answer 48

OK, I simplified my code because I thought that might be the question.  This code gets the exactly the same error.  By the way, l_Error, l_Provider, l_DataSource and l_ExtendedProperties are labels on my web page and gv_Posts is a gridview.

 

Thanks.

 

protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)

{

Boolean gotData = false;

string ss = "SELECT * FROM [Sheet1$]";

DataSet postSet = new DataSet();

string p = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;"; //

string ds = "Data Source=C:\\Users\\Public\\Public Documents\\Statements\\A9358\\A9358D20071215.xls;"; //

string ep = "ExtendedProperties=\"Excel 8.0;HDR=Yes;\";"; //

l_Provider.Text = p;

l_DataSource.Text = ds;

l_ExtendedProperties.Text = ep;

try

{

OleDbConnection conn = new OleDbConnection();

conn.ConnectionString = p + ds + ep;

OleDbCommand cmd = new OleDbCommand(ss, conn);

OleDbDataAdapter adapter = new OleDbDataAdapter(cmd);

adapter.Fill(postSet);

gotData = true;

}

catch (Exception err)

{

l_Error.Text = err.Message;

}

finally

{

if (gotData)

{

gv_Posts.DataSource = postSet;

gv_Posts.DataBind();

}

}

}

 

Answer 49

copy the below code to a buton click event. then change the path for you mdb and xls.

it will work..100%.....................

 

Dim DBImportConn As New OleDbConnection

Dim DBImportCmd As New OleDbCommand

Dim DBImportReader As OleDbDataReader

Dim ImpAccessData As Access.Application

Dim FilePath As String

 

If File.Exists(Application.StartupPath & "\Database\PatientData.mdb") Then

File.Delete(Application.StartupPath & "\Database\PatientData.mdb")

End If

 

ImpAccessData = New Access.ApplicationClass

ImpAccessData.Visible = False

ImpAccessData.NewCurrentDatabase(Application.StartupPath & "\Database\PatientData.mdb")

ImpAccessData.CloseCurrentDatabase()

ImpAccessData.Quit(Access.AcQuitOption.acQuitSaveAll)

ImpAccessData = Nothing

FilePath = Txt_FilePath.Text

If DBImportConn.State = ConnectionState.Open Then DBImportConn.Close()

DBImportConn = New OleDbConnection("Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=" & FilePath & ";Extended Properties=""Excel 8.0;HDR=Yes;IMEX=1"";")

DBImportConn.Open()

 

DBImportCmd = DBImportConn.CreateCommand

DBImportCmd.CommandText = "SELECT * INTO [MS Access;Database=" & Application.StartupPath & "\Database\PatientData.mdb" & "].[Sheet1] FROM [Sheet1$]"

DBImportCmd.ExecuteNonQuery()

DBImportConn.Close()

 

Answer 50

"ExtendedProperties" needs to have a space between "Extended" and "Properties":  "Extended Properties=..."

Answer 51

Brilliant!  That was EXACTLY the problem.  How blind I am, I checked that syntax so many times!

 

Thank you very much!

Answer 52

I had the same issue ("could not find installable ISAM") in my application and I tried just about every solution in this thread and others without success. It wasn't until I changed the registry binary value for "FirstRowHasNames" from 01 to 00 that I had some success. I then ran the string without the HDR=NO;IMEX=1 in the extended properties. It may not be the right way but it worked

Answer 53

I am getting this error also "Count no find installable ISAM"

 

This is my connection string as printed out using Debug.WriteLine.

 

Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0; DataSource=C:\Book1.xlsx;Extended Properties="Excel 8.0;HDR=YES;"

 

It looks find according to the thread above. The application can open access databases no problem. Why is there a problem with Excel?

Answer 54

For Excel 2007 files you need to use the ACE OLEDB provider instead.

 

http://www.connectionstrings.com/?carrier=excel2007

Answer 55

Where does ACE come from?

 

I now saved the xlsx file as an xls file. I then tried to use the connection string as before and I got the same result. .xls is an Excel 2003 file format. Why wont it work with the .xls file?

Answer 56

The Data Source argument should be two words, not one.

 

The ACE provider is installed with Office 2007 or via the Office 2007 Data Connectivity Components.

Answer 57

I'm having the same issue.  Though I'm the server support guy not the developer so code wise I'm pointing the developer here.  but on regards to the registry entries.  Should the 'WIN32 C:\WINDOWS\system32\msexcl40.dll' entry be in both the Engines\Excel and ISAM Formats\Excel 8.0 locations?  I have only Excel 2003 and Common components installed on the server.

Answer 58

Hi All,

I am getting the same error:"Could not find installable ISAM". I am using visual studio 2005(in c#) and the file i am trying to access is MS access 2007 file under C:. I am new to visual studio, please help me look through my connection code to my MS access file. My project is a windows application project.

Please assist and advice. Thank You.

The name of the MS access 2007 file is Sample1


string strAccessConn = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:\\Sample1.mdb; User names=hee(FH\\hee);Password= ";

DataSet myDataSet = new DataSet();
OleDbConnection myAccessConn = null;

             try
            {
                myAccessConn = new OleDbConnection(strAccessConn);

            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                tbcheck.Text = "Error: "+ex.Message;
                return;
            }

string StrAccess = "SELECT * FROM Sample";----the name of my table in the MS access file is called Sample

            try
            {
                OleDbCommand myAccessCommand = new OleDbCommand(StrAccess, myAccessConn);
                OleDbDataAdapter myDataAdapter = new OleDbDataAdapter(myAccessCommand);

                
                myAccessConn.Open();
                //myDataAdapter.Fill(myDataSet, "Sample");
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                tbcheck.Text = "Error:" + ex.Message;----The error msg is displayed here
                return;
            }
            finally
            {
                myAccessConn.Close();
            }

Answer 59

Looks like a bad connection string to me. Should be User ID and not User names.

http://www.connectionstrings.com/access

Also, an Access 2007 database will require the use of the ACE OLEDB Provider and a different connection string.

http://www.connectionstrings.com/access-2007
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=7554F536-8C28-4598-9B72-EF94E038C891&displaylang=en

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Paul ~~~~ Microsoft MVP (Visual Basic)

Answer 60

I don't understand this whole thing.  I have read through and I am having the same issues as everyone else.  I am using classic ASP.  The page I wrote works fine on my localhost (Windows XP SP3) yet when I move the page to my webserver (Windows Server 2003 SP2) it fails.  I have tried the following with both Jet and Ace.  I have also tried hard coding the path with a driver letter.


strConnExcel = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=//mefspr01/groups/everyone/acct/AMS Working/Automation_Commission.xls;Extended Properties=""Excel 8.0; HDR=Yes;"""

strConnExcel = "Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source=//mefspr01/groups/everyone/acct/AMS Working/Automation_Commission.xls;Extended Properties=""Excel 12.0; HDR=Yes;"""

Thanks, John

Answer 61

I would try fixing the UNC path to the file first and then give it another try. The forward-slashes should be back-slashes.

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Paul ~~~~ Microsoft MVP (Visual Basic)

Answer 62

That did not work.

Why the difference between the server and the localhost?  Also, just so you know I tried it with a drive mapping and that did not work either.


strConnExcel = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=\\mefspr01\groups\everyone\acct\AMS Working\Automation_Commission.xls;Extended Properties=""Excel 8.0; HDR=Yes;"""

strConnExcel = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=I:\Everyone\Acct\AMS Working\Automation_Commission.xls;Extended Properties=""Excel 8.0; HDR=Yes;"""

Answer 63

I would suspect at this point that there is a configuration issue. If could be a security issue or it could be that the Jet OLEDB components are missing or not installed properly on your server. You may want to check out the following forum thread as well:

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/forums/en-US/adodotnetdataproviders/thread/c355ae2c-3d48-49b0-a745-477a8d06ac0a

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Paul ~~~~ Microsoft MVP (Visual Basic)

Answer 64

I tried to load MDAC 2.8 and it loaded.  I re-registered the msexcl40.dll and it still is failing.  I have no idea.

I appreciate your attempts...  John

Answer 65

I don't think MDAC will help here. The components are part of the Jet install, and you should have the latest version already installed if you're running SP2.

Can you open an Access database from your ASP application? That might at least rule out whether it's an Excel ISAM driver issue.

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Paul ~~~~ Microsoft MVP (Visual Basic)

Answer 66

I can.  I do it all the time.  I was trying to get fancy and both pull in an excel spreadsheet and write another from an interactive intranet ASP application. 

I am beginning to resolve myself into getting my other applications to offer up .csv files instead of .xls files.

Answer 67

I was having the same ISAM error problem and saw many corrections in VB, but here is a connection string that will work in C#.  I added a space after each semi-colon and the escape sequence for quotes on just the extended properties:


OleDbConnection con = new OleDbConnection("Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:\\Test.xls;Extended Properties=\"Excel 8.0; HDR=Yes; IMEX=1\"");

Answer 68

This thing works,


OleDbConnection con = new OleDbConnection("Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:\\Test.xls;Extended Properties=\"Excel 8.0; HDR=Yes; IMEX=1\"");


Thanks Buddy,

I saved a lot of time because of your post.

Answer 69

It looks like Microsoft disabled the Access to Excel linking technology in Office 2003 SP2 because of a court decision based upon a long running patent infringement lawsuit:

http://news.com.com/Patent+ruling+costs+Microsoft+8.9+million/2100-1007_3-5735432.html
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=904953

Unfortunately, the method they chose to do this (which is rather cheesy if you ask me) also broke the data access technology which relies on the same ISAM driver method. They have configured Microsoft Access to update the ISAM reference to point to the expression evaluator library (which of course is invalid when using the Jet library).

I will check to see if there is a workaround for this. You could probably create a simple script that changes the registry entry to enable data access support for Excel but that may not be the best solution.

 

Hi Paul,

Did you ever get to the bottom of this?

I've started a thread on on http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.dotnet.framework.adonet/browse_thread/thread/5f8e00db05d51105#

Everyone so far has mentioned the connectionstring, but I really don't think it's that.

Cheers,

James

Answer 70

What is your scenario? The error can occur for several reasons so it helps to know when you are encountering it (code would help).

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Paul ~~~~ Microsoft MVP (Visual Basic)

Answer 71

Thank you much.........it worked for me...

Answer 72

 

 

@"provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source="+strPath+";Extended Properties=\"Excel 8.0;HDR=NO;IMEX=1\"";

 

Hi ,
try this in C# .net 3.5:

@"provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source="+strPath+";Extended Properties=\"Excel 8.0;HDR=NO;IMEX=1\"";

It worked for me...

Answer 73

I can provide you the best solution if you really want to continue the work.

This occurs when you work with MS 2007.

So, you save the file in 97-2003 format.

And then use the following source path.

Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:\MyExcel.xls;Extended Properties="Excel 8.0;HDR=Yes;IMEX=1"

I came across the same problem and i could solve it easily.

Thankyou..

Hope, this would help you.