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Excel Connection Manager not working on a 64-bit Client

Bobby P 231 Reputation points
2025-10-30T19:23:54.81+00:00

For the life of me I cannot get an Excel Connection Manager to work in SSIS.

Could not retrieve the table information for the connection manager 'Excel Connection Manager'.

Failed to connect to the source using the connection manager 'Excel Connection Manager'

I did follow the instructions found on web page...

https://superuser.com/questions/1557350/how-to-resolve-you-cannot-install-the-32-64-bit-version-of-microsoft-access-dat

  1. Download accessdatabaseengine_X64.exe
  2. Run the Executable from the Command Prompt... C:\Users<MyUser>\Downloads\accessdatabaseengine_X64.exe /quiet

The System Type on my client machine is...

System type: 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

I checked my SSIS Project Parameters and I honestly don't remember what the Run64BitRuntime should be set-up as but I did try it both with True and then False

It sure feels as though I have been down this frustrating, treacherous Path before.

Do I need to change the ConnectionString Property within my Excel Connection Manager? And if so, what should it be?

Thanks in Advance for your review and am hopeful for a quality reply as to where to go next to get this Excel Connection Manager to work in my SSIS Environment here.

SQL Server Integration Services
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  1. Lakshmi Narayana Garikapati 560 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-10-31T10:13:19.31+00:00

    Hi @Bobby P,

    Thank you for reaching out to the SQL Forum.

    Issue with the Excel Connection Manager in SSIS, where it fails to retrieve table information and connect to the source, despite following steps like installing the 64-bit Access Database Engine and toggling the Run64BitRuntime setting. The root of the problem often lies in a mismatch between the bitness of SSIS and the installed drivers SSIS in Visual Studio typically runs in 32-bit mode by default, so if you've installed the 64-bit version of the Access Database Engine, you may need to set Run64BitRuntime to True in your project properties, or alternatively uninstall the 64-bit version and install the 32-bit one instead. Additionally, your Excel Connection Manager's ConnectionString might need manual adjustment to something like Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source=C:\Path\To\File.xlsx;Extended Properties="Excel 12.0 Xml;HDR=YES"; to ensure compatibility with .xlsx files. Make sure the Excel file isn’t open or locked by another process, avoid mixing 32-bit and 64-bit Office components, and consider saving the Excel file as CSV and using a Flat File Source as a workaround if needed

    https://free.blessedness.top/en-us/sql/integration-services/load-data-to-from-excel-with-ssis?view=sql-server-ver17

    Thanks,

    Lakshmi.

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