'Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.16.0' provider is not registered on the local machine. (System.Data)

Question

I get this error when I try to connect to any excel through MSSQL Server Data Import i.e. SSIS package The Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.16.0 provider is not registered o

Answer 1

Follow these steps:

1. Go [here][1], download Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable and install
2. Close SQL Server Management Studio
3. Go to Start Menu -> Microsoft SQL Server 2017 -> SQL Server 2017 Import and Export Data (64-bit)
4. Open the application and try to import data using the "Excel 2016" option, it should work fine.

Answer 2

An alternative that works for me is to simply convert to a CSV.