The ODBC Error Message (Office 2016 Bug)

UPDATE: The Microsoft update that fixes the Office 2016 bug is not expected to be released for another month or so.  Because of this delay we have created a fix. You may download and use this fix at your own discretion.  This fix makes changes to your Windows registry. If you choose to install this fix you agree that Servant PC is not responsible for any negative impact to your computer.  Additionally, you may wish to backup your registry. Instructions for backing up your registry can be found here.

DOWNLOAD REGISTRY FIX HERE

Note: You should only download and run the fix if you are getting the Unable to load odbcji32.dll error in Servant Keeper

Recent Microsoft updates to Office 2016 have resulted in applications using MS Access generating an error message “Unable to load odbcji32.dll”.

odbc error msg

IN A NUTSHELL: A recent update to Microsoft Office 2016/365 is updating a registry entry for Microsoft Access ODBC drivers. The standard Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb, *.accdb) ODBC drivers are located in the Windows\system32\ directory. Servant PC found that particular Microsoft office updates can change this path to “Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\VFS\ProgramFilesCommonX86\Microsoft Shared\Office16\”.  This change causes our local database software version to be unable to load and use ODBC for connecting to our local database. What we also found was that after correcting this path back to Windows\system32\ we were able to load and use ODBC without error.

Because of this we advise not updating Office 2016 or Windows 10 until Microsoft provides a fix for this issue. However, you are probably at this page because you already ran the MS update and are getting the error message. If that is the case, here are several things you can try that may fix the bug on your computer. [UPDATE: THE BEST SOLUTION IS TO NOW USE THE REGISTRY FIX AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE]

In our experience, not every solution is working for every affected computer.  Again, please bear in mind that this is a Microsoft bug and we are limited in our ability to fix it at this time.  We offer these solutions in an attempt to get you up and running in the mean time.  Our developers are actively seeking resolution with Microsoft and we will let you know as soon as it is resolved.

Try rolling back to office 2013. (You must be an office 365 customer or have an existing office 2013 license)

http://windowsreport.com/rollback-office-2013-office-2016/

(click pictures to enlarge)
1. In the search area type “programs and features” and press ENTER

programs and features

2. In the Programs and Features control panel, scroll down to Microsoft office and right-click on it to select Uninstall.

uninstall

uninstall 2

3. If you have more than one installation of Microsoft office repeat step 2.

4. After the Microsoft Office uninstall process has completed, Open Servant Keeper and verify that you can generate reports.

5. Reinstall Microsoft Office.

6. Open Servant Keeper and verify that you can generate reports.

Try running sfc on the computer. This procedure can help fix common computer errors.. SFC is a utility in Windows that can scan the corrupted windows files and restore it.

  1. Click “Start” Button, and type CMD in the searching box. Right-click “CMD”, then run as administrator.
  2. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:sfc /scannow

Then you may received the following message. Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations. (This means that you do not have any missing or corrupted system files.)
Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them. (In this situation, you had better do a system restore.)

As a last resort try and do a system restore (click images to enlarge)

  1. In the search area of the taskbar Type “recovery” and press enter to open the recovery control panel

recovery

2. In the Recovery Control panel click on Open System Restore.

recover 2

3. Follow the steps in the wizard to choose a restore point and restore your computer.