The thing is, I actually prefer using GPO’s for settings instead of scripting them.

One was using powershell to load registry keys, the other used GPO Client Side Preferences to define User DSN’s which creates the 64-bit DSN and a 32-bit equivalent. This is fine - but you then need to be very careful to keep the 32-bit and 64-bit DSN configurations in sync, as different output resulting from different configurations can lead to undesired and unexpected results in the end, especially in scenarios where tools invisibly mix 32-bit and 64-bit components (as some versions of Microsoft SQL Server and Visual Studio are known to do).I searched around and found two different approaches to creating 32-bit System DSN’s on a 64-bit box. It can be tempting - and in some ways useful - to use identical names for 32-bit and 64-bit DSNs. System DSNs will only be seen by the applications and tools which can use them - 32-bit DSNs for 32-bit applications, and 64-bit DSNs for 64-bit applications.įor this reason among others, we strongly advise using only System DSNs in 64-bit environments. Likewise, the 64-bit Administrator, and all 64-bit ODBC applications (typically installed to %systemdrive%/Program Files/), will list 32-bit User DSNs (that is, DSNs based on 32-bit ODBC drivers) - even though these DSNs and drivers cannot be used by the 64-bit tools/applications. Note that the 32-bit Administrator, and all 32-bit ODBC applications (typically installed to %systemdrive%/Program Files (x86)/), will list 64-bit User DSNs (that is, DSNs based on 64-bit ODBC drivers) - even though these DSNs and drivers cannot be used by the 32-bit tools/applications. Start -> Control Panels -> Data Sources (ODBC) (The 64-bit ODBC Administrator can also be accessed through the Control Panels interface, as the Data Sources (ODBC) control panel.) Typical Paths to ODBC Administrators This controls 64-bit ODBC drivers, which are required by 64-bit client applications. (The 32-bit ODBC Administrator cannot be accessed through the Control Panels interface the Data Sources (ODBC) control panel is the 64-bit ODBC Administrator.)Ĭounterintuitively, the 64-bit ODBC Administrator is found at %systemdrive%/Windows/System32/odbcad32.exe. This controls 32-bit ODBC drivers, which are required by 32-bit client applications. The 32-bit ODBC Administrator is found at %systemdrive%/Windows/ SysWoW64/odbcad32.exe. They are differentiated by their filesystem location.

Many 64-bit environments still support 32-bit applications, and these require 32-bit ODBC drivers and DSNs, so it's important to understand how this all works.īoth the 32-bit and 64-bit ODBC Administrator are named odbcad32.exe. Using ODBC (32-bit and 64-bit) on 64-bit WindowsĦ4-bit Windows has some surprising and counterintuitive setup and behavior around 32-bit and 64-bit ODBC.

Odbc data source 64 bit