Short answer: the 64-bit build of the Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable is the file AccessDatabaseEngine_X64.exe. You can download it from Microsoft.
Before you install it, read the second half of this page: if you landed here because of “Provider cannot be found. It may not be properly installed” or “Data source name not found and no default driver specified”, installing the driver is only one of two ways out. The other is to use a tool that opens .mdb and .accdb files directly, with no driver involved at all.
Which build do you actually need?
The Access Database Engine ships in two builds and they are not interchangeable. Your application, your Office installation and the engine all have to agree.
| 64-bit — this page | 32-bit | |
|---|---|---|
| File name | AccessDatabaseEngine_X64.exe |
AccessDatabaseEngine.exe |
| Install it when | the program that reads the database is 64-bit | that program is 32-bit |
| Symptom if you pick wrong | “Provider cannot be found” still appears after installing | the provider never shows up in the list |
Windows will not install both builds side by side the normal way. Getting both in place requires running the 32-bit installer with the /quiet switch, which is an unsupported configuration that can break Office. So it is worth confirming which build you need before installing anything.
How to tell whether your program is 64-bit
- Microsoft Office: File → Account → About Word (or About Excel). The first line of that dialog says 32-bit or 64-bit.
- Any Windows program: open Task Manager, switch to the Details tab and look at the process name. 32-bit processes carry a “(32 bit)” label.
- From the install path: a program under
C:\Program Files (x86)is 32-bit; one underC:\Program Filesis 64-bit.
Skip the driver: open Access files directly
Withdata’s Access tools read .mdb and .accdb files themselves. No Access Database Engine, no OLEDB or ODBC provider, and no Microsoft Access installation — and they run on Windows, Linux and macOS.
- Export Access tables to CSV, Excel, JSON, TXT or SQL
- Import CSV, Excel or text files into Access
- Copy data between two Access databases
- Migrate Access to MySQL, SQL Server, PostgreSQL and others
The same is true of our Excel tools, which work without Microsoft Excel installed and without this driver.
If you still need Microsoft’s driver
Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable installs the ACE provider that older applications use to read .mdb, .accdb, .xls, .xlsx and .xlsb files. Microsoft publishes it on its own download page: Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable. Pick the 64-bit download — AccessDatabaseEngine_X64.exe, not the 32-bit one.
See also: the 32-bit version of this driver · Missing msvcr110.dll · Unable to load odbcji32.dll · all database tools
Convert your data online, free
Free in-browser converters for CSV, Excel, JSON, XML and SQL: Withdata Online Data Conversion. Large files, batch conversion or scheduling? See the offline desktop apps, or browse all data conversion tools.
