FIX: You receive an "Invalid character" error message when you use left outer join with WHERE condition

When you use the Microsoft ODBC for Oracle driver version 2.573.3711, and the SQL query contains a left outer join and a WHERE clause, the second execution of the SQL statement fails, and you may receive the following error message:

In the SQL statement, the word "WHERE" has been changed to "WHER}". This generates the error message. When the ODBC for Oracle driver converts the incoming SQL statement to native Oracle syntax, an offset-calculation error in the logic of the parsing code causes the original statement to be partially overwritten.

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next Microsoft Data Access Components service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question. The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

    Date         Time   Version            Size    File name
   --------------------------------------------------------------
   15-Apr-1999  05:17  2.573.4015.0      141,584  Msorcl32.dll     

Note Because of file dependencies, the most recent hotfix or feature that contains these files may also contain additional files.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Data Access Components 2.1 Service Pack 2.

To install this hotfix, follow these steps:

1.	Verify that no services or applications are currently using the driver.
2.	Download the hotfix file to a temporary folder.
3.	Locate the current version of the driver (msorcl32.dll) in the %windir%\system32 folder.
4.	Rename the current version of the driver, and then copy the hotfix version to the same location.