Pyodbc error Data source name not found and no default driver specified paradox

Question

I am attempting to use pyobdc to read data from a paradox database, and I keep getting the following error when attempting to connect to the database:

Answer 1

Thanks for the question, I had a similar problem, and this question and the answers helped lead me to what I needed. The problem for me ended up being a mismatch between 64-bit Python and 32-bit ODBC Driver on Windows 10 (as Chad Kennedy suggested). I'm running a fully updated Fall Creator's Edition, and had Microsoft Office Pro 2016 installed. The MS Office installer still defaults to a 32-bit installation (don't get me started...) -- it doesn't ask about this at install time, so imagine my surprise when I discovered I was running 32-bit Office. Because of this, it installs the 32-bit ODBC driver for MS Access. There is a tiny unnoticeable link you can click in the MS Office installer dialog to force the 64-bit install.

A 64-bit Python installation won't work with the 32-bit Microsoft Access ODBC driver, and Microsoft won't let you install the 64-bit ODBC driver if you have 32-bit MS Office installed on the machine.

The fix was to UNINSTALL MS Office, and re-install it by using that tiny link on the install dialog to tell it to install as 64-bit. Don't worry, it remembers all of your recent files and settings, and email accounts in Outlook. Once that was done, I had the 64-bit ODBC driver, and my Python code connected to the database with no further problems.