Cannot initialize the data source object of OLE DB provider “Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0” for linked server

Question

I'm trying to establish a linked server from SQL Server 2008 R2 to an Access database . The Access database is not password protected. As I have seen in other posts ( specifically this one ), this is usually due to the current user not having access to the Temp folder inside the NetworkService folder. Since we are running this in Windows Server 2008 , the directory structure is quite different than what most are eluding to. I have allowed access to every temp folder in the "root:\\Documents and Settings\\" directory , and to no avail.

This is the procedure I am using to add the linked server:

EXEC sp_addlinkedserver 
@server = N'OS_Access', 
@provider = N'Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0', 
@srvproduct = N'',
@datasrc = N'C:\RTBData\Data\OS.mdb';
GO

It creates the linked server with no problem, but I am not able to view the tables/views of the database. Likewise, my ASP.NET application cannot access it either.

I have tried both ACE and JET(64-bit) (by installing the Data Connectivity Components for Office), and they both do not work. I have also tried configuring the ACE provider with "Dynamic Parameter" and "Allow InProcess" to true.

Additionally, I tried upping the memory usage by the MSSQLSERVER services by adding "-g512; " in front of "startup parameters" string in SQL configuration manager to rule out memory issues.

If anyone could shed some light on this that would be fantastic! Thanks!

UPDATE: I logged into SQL using the sa account, and I was able to view the linked server. My current user account has full permissions in SQL server, so I am unsure of what the difference is between the accounts. Maybe I gave permissions to the wrong Temp folder, in which the sa account (being built-in) has access to. If someone could point me in the right direction here, that would be great, and I think it would also help a lot of other people.

Answer 1

I fixed the problem by disabling UAC within the control panel. I am unsure what changes this made, but it might help others!

Answer 2

USE [master]
GO
EXEC sp_configure 'show advanced options', 1
RECONFIGURE
GO
EXEC sp_configure 'ad hoc distributed queries', 1
RECONFIGURE
GO
USE [master]
GO
EXEC master . dbo. sp_MSset_oledb_prop N'Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0' , N'AllowInProcess' , 1
GO
EXEC master . dbo. sp_MSset_oledb_prop N'Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0' , N'DynamicParameters' , 1
GO
SELECT *
FROM OPENROWSET('Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0','Name & Location of DB';;, [TableName])