How to connect to a MS Access file (mdb) using C#?

Question

I'm trying to connect to a mdb file and I understand that I would need Microsoft.OLEDB.JET.4.0 data provider. Unfortunately, I do not have it installed on the (University) machine. Since, they don't provide that provider, I believe there should be a way around.

How can I connect to the file without Microsoft.OLEDB.JET.4.0 or is there any alternative ?

I have following providers:

I have tried using OLE DB Provider for Microsoft Directory Services, to which while testing connection, I get 'Test succeeded but some settings were not accepted by the provider'. I took that string and used it anyway and I got ADsDSOObject' failed with no error message available, result code: DB_E_ERRORSINCOMMAND(0x80040E14).

Answer 1

The simplest way to connect is through an OdbcConnection using code like this

using System.Data.Odbc;

using(OdbcConnection myConnection = new OdbcConnection())
{
    myConnection.ConnectionString = myConnectionString;
    myConnection.Open();

    //execute queries, etc

}

where myConnectionString is something like this

myConnectionString = @"Driver={Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb)};" + 
"Dbq=C:\mydatabase.mdb;Uid=Admin;Pwd=;

See ConnectionStrings

In alternative you could create a DSN and then use that DSN in your connection string

• Open the Control Panel - Administrative Tools - ODBC Data Source Manager
• Go to the System DSN Page and ADD a new DSN
• Choose the Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb) and press END
• Set the Name of the DSN (choose MyDSN for this example)
• Select the Database to be used
• Try the Compact or Recover commands to see if the connection works

now your connectionString could be written in this way

myConnectionString = "DSN=myDSN;"

Answer 2

Here's how to use a Jet OLEDB or Ace OLEDB Access DB:

using System.Data;
using System.Data.OleDb;

string myConnectionString = @"Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;" +
                           "Data Source=C:\myPath\myFile.mdb;" +                                    
                           "Persist Security Info=True;" +
                           "Jet OLEDB:Database Password=myPassword;";
try
{
    // Open OleDb Connection
    OleDbConnection myConnection = new OleDbConnection();
    myConnection.ConnectionString = myConnectionString;
    myConnection.Open();

    // Execute Queries
    OleDbCommand cmd = myConnection.CreateCommand();
    cmd.CommandText = "SELECT * FROM `myTable`";
    OleDbDataReader reader = cmd.ExecuteReader(CommandBehavior.CloseConnection); // close conn after complete

    // Load the result into a DataTable
    DataTable myDataTable = new DataTable();
    myDataTable.Load(reader);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
    Console.WriteLine("OLEDB Connection FAILED: " + ex.Message);
}

Answer 3

You should use "Microsoft OLE DB Provider for ODBC Drivers" to get to access to Microsoft Access. Here is the sample tutorial on using it

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa288452(v=vs.71).aspx