Purpose of ODBC(INST).INI

[Fleming]

I want to know the meaning of the files ODBC.INI and
ODBCINST.INI. It looks for me that all the DSN settings
are in the registry. And i tried to remove both files and
I could still see the DSNs in the DSN Administrator and I
could use them for a test connection.

I have to provide a solution that transfers ODBC DSN (both
user and system DSN) settings from a NT workstation to a
XP workstation and the solution should work with the
standard user logins. The problem is that the standard
users do not have the permission to change the ODBC*.INI
files (or any other file in the Windows system folders).
But they are allowed to register even system DSNs.

So why do I really have to care for the ODBC*.INI files?

Thanks for any hints
Fleming

[Brannon Jones [MS]]

The .INI files are there for legacy purposes. All of the information is
stored in the registry.

--
Brannon Jones
Developer - MDAC
This posting is provided "as is" with no warranties and confers no rights.

"Fleming" <anon...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:07a001c3bfbf$90608810$a401...@phx.gbl...

[Russ Gray [MS]]

Hi Fleming

The INI file is basically a holdover from the 16 bit days when there was no
registry. When we went to 32 bits it was included for backwards
compatibility, and it's been there ever since.

You're correct, the registry is where DSN's are stored. I don't recommend
deleting the ini file because ODBC has legacy code that keeps it up to
date, but aside from that you can basically ignore it.

Thanks,

Russ Gray
Microsoft Developer Support

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

[anon...@discussions.microsoft.com]

Thanks for your help!
Merry xMas and a happy new year!
Fleming