How to revert to the Access 97 ODBC driver if MDAC 2.1 overwrites the Access 97 ODBC driver with the Access 2000 ODBC driver

Installing MDAC version 2.1 or later overwrites the Microsoft Access 97 ODBC driver with the Access 2000 ODBC driver without warning. For the reasons documented later in this article, you may want to revert to the Access 97 ODBC driver. Because both versions of the ODBC drivers have the same DLL name, you can only have one or the other installed.

1. In Windows or Windows NT explorer, open one of the following folders:
   • If you are running Windows 95/98, open \Windows\SYSTEM.
   • If you are running Windows NT, open \WINNT\System32.
2. Rename the following files to have the .old file name extension.

   File name (description)	Rename to
   ODBCJT32.dll (Access 2000 ODBC Driver)	ODBCJT32.old
   ODBCJI32.dll (Resource DLL)	ODBCJI32.old
   Odexl32.dll (Excel)	Odexl32.old
   Oddbse32.dll (dBase)	Oddbse32.old
   Odpdx32.dll (Paradox)	Odpdx32.old
   Odtext32.dll (Text)	Odtext32.old
   Odfox32.dll (FoxPro)	Odfox32.old

3. To restore most of the ODBC files, re-install Office 97 or Access 97. Leave your CD in the drive.
4. To re-install the remaining ODBC drivers, on the Start menu, click Run, and then type the following command line:
   <CD drive>\Valupack\Dataacc\Dataacc.exe

Reasons for reverting to the Access 97 ODBC driver

• You are unable to import or export from Outlook 97 to the Access 97 format.
• You have a third-party application that requires the Access 97 ODBC driver for design or performance considerations.
• You are unable to update dBASE or Paradox files accessed via the Access 2000 ODBC driver.
• You receive this error message:
  Unrecognized database format '<path>\<filename>'.

NoteThe information used in this article should only be used as a temporary emergency measure in a controlled environment. The changes described in this article will break applications which require the new Microsoft Access ODBC drivers. The changes in this article will be undone if MDAC is upgraded in the future, either by applying a service pack or installing a new application.

The following articles provide a more long term solution which will not affect applications requiring the newer ODBC drivers:

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Applications should be migrated to these solutions as soon as possible.