InstallAware

Hi,

I am getting an error when trying to create a SQL Server ODBC DSN
within my project. When running the project (only tested on a XP machine at this stage) I get the following error:-

Error
Error configuring ODBC data source: TESS_SC5_LIVE, ODBC error 8: Invalid keyword-value pairs. Verify that the file TESS_SC5_LIVE exists and the you can access it.

The attributes specified in the Create ODBC DSN command are as follows:-

Data Source Name = TESS_SC5_LIVE
Driver Name = SQL Server
Registration= Per Machine

Attributes=
Description=Tesseract DB
Server=[SC5_SQLServerSetup]
QuotedId=No
AnsiNPW=No
Database=[SC5_SQLServerSetupDB]
LastUser=[SC5_SQLServerSetupLogin]

Any ideas?

I have also tried hardcoding the attributes as opposed to using variables but this gives the same result. I am able to execute SQL scripts from the same project on the same SQL Server without any problems.

Kind Regards
Chris

Are all these variables defined in MSIcode:

$SC5_SQLServerSetup$
$SC5_SQLServerSetupDB$
$SC5_SQLServerSetupLogin$

Yes they are and I use the same variables to run SQL scripts without issue.
I get the same issue if I do not use variables at all and just harcode in the details.

Can you shed any light on why this isn't working please? It's a key requirment of the installer.

It's been 2 weeks and still no further response to this issue. Why won't IA create an ODBC DSN?

Seeing as IA couldn't be botherd to provide any support on this issue posted over two months ago I though I'd post some discoveries I made on my own just in case there are any other fustrated users struggling with the same error and no support.

I managed to track down the "Invalid keyword-value pairs." error message.

The error is generated because the current ODBC SQL Server driver does not support writing USER or PWD parameters to registry (for security reasons).

Generally, whenever you get this error, you are trying to create a DSN with a parameter (keyword) that is not supported by the driver. To find out which one is not supported, start removing parameters one at a time.

To resolve this issue I had to remove the "LastUser=" line from the Attributes field.

When you select an existing ODBC Source to base your new one on IA put this value into the attributes for you, this in itself is a problem that should be addressed in a future release.

I am now able to successfully create an ODBC DSN with hardcoded attribute values. However as soon as I try to include variables within the attributes it fails again with the following error:

Error
Error configuring ODBC data source: TESS_SC5_LIVE, ODBC error 9: Invalid DSN. Verify that the file TESS_SC5_LIVE exists and that you can access it.

These are my attributes when it fails:-
Description=Tesseract SC5 Live Database
Server=[SQLSERVERNAME]
QuotedId=No
AnsiNPW=No
Database=SC5_TEST

These are my attributes when it works:-
Description=Tesseract SC5 Live Database
Server=SQL-SERVER
QuotedId=No
AnsiNPW=No
Database=SC5_TEST

Why is it not accepting the variables passed?

Please help.

In case anyone else is experiencing issues when trying to create ODBC DSN's with variables.

It has been confirmed that this is a bug and is now on the list to be fixed in the next major release.

Happy to see the CreateDSN problems will finally be fixed.

Is there any news on when these fixes will be released?

Will it be possible to switch off the Dynamic Port option (required when connecting to SQL Express hosted on Vista through a firewall)?

Is there a comprehensive list of the parameters support by CreateDSN?

Cheers, Bruce.