[Resolved] MS ADO Requirements

[Bret Reece]

Hi All,

I'm working on an app in VB6 that uses MS ADO as the database engine and I've read lots about what the distribution requirements are, but I'm still pretty confused.

The only reference to ADO in my project is "Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects 2.5 Library." Everything else is done in code - no data control, no data
environment, etc."

I'm thinking that the vast majority of downloaders will have Windows XP
plus a newer version of IE, so they should have everything that they
need...but I'm not sure.

Is there a document somewhere that's laid out very simple that tells:

- What version of MDAC people will need for my usage of ADO

- What versions of IE come w/ what version of MDAC

- What versions of Windows come w/ what version of MDAC (does it come w/
Windows?)

Also, should I use a different version of ADO to minimize the troubles my users will have? If so, would I have to change a bunch of code?

Any help with this will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Bret Reece

[szlamany]

Hi All,

I'm working on an app in VB6 that uses MS ADO as the database engine and I've read lots about what the distribution requirements are, but I'm still pretty confused.

The only reference to ADO in my project is "Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects 2.5 Library." Everything else is done in code - no data control, no data
environment, etc."

I'm thinking that the vast majority of downloaders will have Windows XP
plus a newer version of IE, so they should have everything that they
need...but I'm not sure.

Is there a document somewhere that's laid out very simple that tells:

- What version of MDAC people will need for my usage of ADO

- What versions of IE come w/ what version of MDAC

- What versions of Windows come w/ what version of MDAC (does it come w/
Windows?)

Also, should I use a different version of ADO to minimize the troubles my users will have? If so, would I have to change a bunch of code?

Any help with this will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Bret Reece

We developed against MDAC 2.6 - some of my customers have MDAC 2.8 installed (required for MS Server 2003 boxes) - it worked effortlessly - no change to my code at all.

In short I do not see a problem with someone having the most recent MDAC installed on the box they are using.

[Bret Reece]

Szlamany,

Thanks for the response. So, with a reference to "Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects 2.5 Library" in my project, I guess I'm good w/ Windows 98SE users and above (for the most part)? Is that your opinion?

Thanks again,
Bret

[szlamany]

Szlamany,

Thanks for the response. So, with a reference to "Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects 2.5 Library" in my project, I guess I'm good w/ Windows 98SE users and above (for the most part)? Is that your opinion?

Thanks again,
Bret

I've read about issues with Win98 and newer versions of MDAC (maybe the MSDN site can give you more details).

So be careful of upgrading the Win98 box.

[mendhak]

- What version of MDAC people will need for my usage of ADO

Just include MDAC_TYP.exe when deploying your app and it'll get installed on the end machine. You shouldn't need to worry about what version of MDAC the end user has.

[Bret Reece]

Thanks for the replies.

I finally found a good FAQ via google. The URL is http://www.able-consulting.com/ADO_Faq.htm. It's helped a lot.

Thanks,
Bret

[szlamany]

I've read about issues with Win98 and newer versions of MDAC (maybe the MSDN site can give you more details).

So be careful of upgrading the Win98 box.

Bret - thanks for the FAQ - I decided to copy/paste the pertinent Win98 issue right here from that FAQ

Q47) After installing MDAC 2.5 on a Windows 95/ 98 or NT 4.0 machine, I get a Windows Setup dialog every time I reboot my computer. Why?

There is a bug in the MDAC 2.5 install which leaves a "mdac_runonce" entry in the "run" system registry key.

To fix this problem, either install MDAC 2.6, or obtain a fix from Micxrosoft support, or just remove the "mdac_runonce" entry.

For more information, please see the following Microsoft KB article:
Q268062 - MDAC 2.5 Configuration Dialog Appears After Every Restart

[Bret Reece]

szlamany,

Great information! Thanks. I'll put that in my support kb for when I get requests from 95/98 users.

Bret