The 32-bit ODBC client for MS-access does not work and installing the 64-bit client is not allowed, what to do?

Question

I have a 64-bit Windows 7 laptop that I use for development.
I have office 2003 installed, because I have a client that works with Office 2003.

Microsoft Access is not installed, because it's my firm belief it's a piece of ehm non-optimal software.

I need to read a .mdb file written in Access.
The client wants me to read a few columns from this file into a different database.

I cannot get ODBC to connect to the database.
If I go to settings-> system -> ODBC

and double click on MS-Access I get an error:

No routines for setting up ODBC for MS Access drivers (*.mdb) are found. Reinstall the drivers.

Installing 32-bit drivers does not help
I've gone to: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=13255
And downloaded the 32-bit drivers and installed those, restarted the computer.
This does not help, the problem persists unchanged.

Installing 64-bit drivers is not allowed

Running the BDE-Administrator does not work either
BDE plays nice with me, but hangs when I want to save the settings.

How do I get access to that *.mdb file?
I'd like to use ODBC, but I'm open to any and all workarounds.
I'd like to connect using Delphi XE2 or Delphi-2007.

Answer 1

There are two ODBC dialogs on your system. One for 32bit and one for 64bit. The one you can reach via system control is the 64bit one.

The 32bit version is located at

• C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ODBCAD32.EXE (on a 32bit Windows)
• C:\WINDOWS\SYSWOW64\ODBCAD32.EXE (on a 64bit Windows)