Oracle ODBC: Non-Default Decimal Separator Causes MTS Transaction Enlistment to Fail on non-U.S. Platforms

ID: Q235553

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

When using the Microsoft Oracle ODBC driver, and when using a non-U.S. platform or when the decimal separator character is not a period ("."), enlistment in a distributed transaction may fail.


CAUSE

The Oracle ODBC driver header files have inadvertently defined both DBCINFO_FLGS_SPECIALDECIMAL and DBCINFO_FLGS_DISTRIBTX to have the same value (0x10).

When a connection is made to the data source, the connection attributes are set to include the DBCINFO_FLGS_SPECIALDECIMAL flag. Later, when attempting to enlist in a distributed transaction, the connection attributes are checked for DBCINFO_FLGS_DISTRIBTX, which comes back TRUE because the values are the same. The resulting attempt to enlist with DTC fails.

This circumstance is likely to occur most often when using the Microsoft Oracle ODBC driver under Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS), and when using a non-U.S. platform (such as Japanese) where the decimal separator is not a period.


RESOLUTION

A supported fix that corrects this problem is now available from Microsoft, but it has not been fully regression tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. If you are not severely affected by this specific problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Microsoft Data Access Components Service Pack 2 that contains this fix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/overview/overview.asp
The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

   Date      Time    Version      Size    File name     Platform
   -------------------------------------------------------------
   6/14/9            2.573.4214   139KB   msorcl32.dll

NOTE: If this product was already installed on your computer when you purchased it from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and you need this fix, please call the Pay Per Incident number listed on the above Web site. If you contact Microsoft to obtain this fix, and if it is determined that you only require the fix you requested, no fee will be charged. However, if you request additional technical support, and if your no-charge technical support period has expired, or if you are not eligible for standard no-charge technical support, you may be charged a non-refundable fee.

For more information about eligibility for no-charge technical support, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q154871 Determining If You Are Eligible for No-Charge Technical Support


STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.


MORE INFORMATION

Manual Installation

  1. Close or stop any applications or services that are using Msorcl32.dll, including Internet Information Server (IIS), Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS), Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (DTC), or any ADO or ODBC applications.


  2. Download the hotfix (DupBitFlag.exe) into a temporary directory and run it to extract the following files:



  3. Locate and rename the current version of Msorcl32.dll, which should be in the \winnt\system32 folder for Windows NT machines, and in the \windows\system folder for Windows 9x machines.


  4. Copy the hotfix version of Msorcl32.dll into the same location, and restart your services and applications.


Important Notice for Microsoft Windows 95/98 Users

If you are installing this fix onto a computer running Windows 95 or a computer with the original release of Windows 98, you may need to install the Windows 98 Migration DLL included with this fix. Please carefully read the Migrate_qfe.txt file that is included with the Migration.exe file, included with the download.

Additional query words: oracle odbc driver decimal separator period fail enlist distributed transaction MTS DTC foreign non US english platform 


Keywords          : kbDatabase kbDriver kbOracle kbGrpVCDB kbGrpMDAC kbMDAC210SP2fix 
Version           : WINDOWS:2.1,2.1 (GA),2.1 SP1,2.5
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: July 21, 1999