Redistributing MDAC

Each release of MDAC includes a matched set of modules. These modules were tested together when Microsoft released them. The interdependencies of the modules are not simple; they must all be distributed as a set. Although it's tempting to try to distribute only the modules for the components that you think your application may need, there is no supported way to do that. Other applications will use MDAC components, and if they aren't part of the same released set, the applications will probably crash.

Note Each release of MDAC includes a license agreement, which gives you specific rights to redistribute some of the files in MDAC. This article does not change the terms of the license agreements in any way.

The current version of MDAC includes a redistributable MDAC setup, in the file mdac_typ.exe. This program is a self-extracting compressed file that installs the run-time components onto a workstation.

The ADO components (including RDS) and some OLE DB modules require administrator privileges on Microsoft Windows NT®, Microsoft Windows® 2000 or Microsoft Windows® XP to install and register correctly.

• For MDAC 2.8, the redistributable MDAC setup program was designed to install under all currently supported versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system.

See the Microsoft Data Access and Storage Developer Center Web site for more information about redistributing MDAC.

Avoiding a Restart

The redistributable MDAC setup will sometimes require the workstation to be restarted to complete its installation. In some situations, however, it may be possible to avoid restarting the workstation. Shutting down applications and services that are using MDAC components will minimize the likelihood that the redistributable setup will try to restart the workstation to complete the installation.

When the MDAC setup program is run, it tries to detect if any of the files it will be installing are in use and raise a dialog to inform the user of this. This will allow the user to try and shut down those applications in order to try to reduce the need for a reboot.

The procedures for shutting down applications are generally obvious and simple. However, shutting down system services, which are applications that run in a special context for the operating system, is not as obvious or intuitive. Use the Services applet in the Windows Control Panel to shut down running services. There are several services that may use MDAC components and should be stopped in order to install the MDAC components without restarting the workstation. For example, Internet Information Services (IIS), Component Services (formerly Microsoft Transaction Services MTS), and Microsoft® SQL Server™ are all services that may use MDAC components.

If the redistributable MDAC setup is being run as part of a larger installation, see the section below titled "Silent Setup," which shows the command switches used to prevent the MDAC setup from restarting the workstation immediately. Note that this does not eliminate the potential need to restart the workstation; if you do prevent the MDAC setup from restarting the workstation, you should assume that the installation will not be complete until the workstation is restarted.

MDAC setup has several modes to customize installation.

Standard Setup

Standard setup is the recommended mode. This mode emphasizes the fact that the user's system is being upgraded and offers the option to abort the installation if necessary. A setup may also involve restarting the machine, and this method gives users maximum control over the timing of the restart.

To run MDAC setup in standard mode, simply execute mdac_typ.exe with no command-line parameters. This will bring up all necessary user interface dialogs to allow the user to install MDAC.

MDAC setup will extract all of the files in mdac_typ.exe to the user's TEMP directory. From there, it will run the setup program dasetup.exe. The setup program will display the license agreement, which the user must accept in order to proceed. Then the user will have two options: either select a complete installation of MDAC or exit the setup program. After the files are copied, the user will be notified if the workstation must be restarted. The user can choose to restart immediately or wait until later.

File Extraction

In this mode, MDAC setup merely extracts all of the files in mdac_typ.exe to a folder and then exits. It does not install MDAC. To run MDAC setup in file extraction mode, use the following syntax at the command prompt:

   mdac_typ /C /T:<full path>

For example, to extract all of the files in mdac_typ.exe to the folder "C:\MDAC FILES", use the following command:

   mdac_typ /C /T:"C:\MDAC FILES"

You do not have to create the folder before extracting files to it. MDAC setup will create the folder for you if it doesn't exist.

This is also not a "silent" setup; all of the files will be copied to the folder provided. The user will see a window indicating that the files are being copied. After the files are all copied, all processing stops and no setup is run.

Logging

MDAC setup will create a log file in the Windows root directory. This file is DASETUP.LOG it details the actions that setup ran and the result of the setup.

Silent Setup

This mode installs MDAC with almost no visible user interface at all. This mode should be used only as part of a larger application setup program that can handle any problems that may arise during installation. To run MDAC setup in silent mode, use the following command:

   mdac_typ /Q:A /C:"dasetup /Q"

If you need to prevent the MDAC setup from restarting the workstation, use this command:

   mdac_typ /Q:A /C:"dasetup /Q /N"

You can also run a silent setup that will raise a dialog if setup finds any MDAC files in use with this command:

   mdac_typ /Q:A /C:"dasetup /Q:D /N"

This command will allow the user to shut down the applications and possibly avoid the need for a reboot. It will completely install MDAC but will not restart the workstation. A restart may be required to complete the installation, so the larger application setup program should restart when it has completed its setup.

The Knowledge Base article KB307255 - INFO: Component Checker: Diagnose Problems and Reconfigure MDAC Installationsalso has information about options you can use with the MDAC setup program.

Manual Setup

Microsoft does not recommend or support manual setup of the MDAC files. Use only the redistributable program mdac_typ.exe to distribute MDAC, in accordance with the license agreement.

ODBC Notes

In general, it is safe to mix and match ODBC drivers with ODBC Driver Manager/Core Components. You should make sure the ODBC Driver Manager is more recent than the ODBC drivers, even though the product group attempts to ensure that the ODBC Driver Manager and Microsoft ODBC drivers are backward compatible.