TechNote (Archived)

ColdFusion MX 6.1: Connection error when configuring a remote Microsoft Access database

Issue

Setting up a remote data source connection to an Access database using a mapped drive may result in the following error:

 Connection verification failed for data source: pcchargeDB []java.sql.SQLException: [Macromedia][SequeLink JDBC Driver][ODBC Socket][Microsoft][ODBC Microsoft Access Driver] '(unknown)' is not a valid path. Make sure that the path name is spelled correctly and that you are connected to the server on which the file resides. The root cause was that: java.sql.SQLException: [Macromedia][SequeLink JDBC Driver][ODBC Socket][Microsoft][ODBC Microsoft Access Driver] '(unknown)' is not a valid path. Make sure that the path name is spelled correctly and that you are connected to the server on which the file resides.

Reason

This error occurs when permissions are not set properly and you try to use the ODBC Socket or the drive letter of the mapped drive to the database.

Solution

Follow the steps below to avoid the issue:

Make sure the user who logged onto the machine has administrator rights.
Set that user to be the logon account for the ColdFusion MX ODBC Server and ColdFusion MX ODBC Agent services in the Windows services control panel.
Map a drive to the remote database.
Create the data source in the ColdFusion Administrator using the Microsoft Access option, not ODBC Socket.
Set the path to the database using the UNC path, such as the following example: \\machine_name\databases\test.mdb