Postgresql Odbc Driver Windows: 7 32 Bit

On Windows 7 32-bit with PostgreSQL ODBC, the newest driver is not your friend — especially if you have bytea columns or use client-side cursors. Test with 9.0 or 9.2, and always check the 32-bit administrator.

I opened the ( C:\Windows\System32\odbcad32.exe ) — no DSN listed. Opened the 32-bit version ( C:\Windows\SysWOW64\odbcad32.exe ) — the DSN was there, but it was marked as using PostgreSQL ANSI (no x64). So far so good. postgresql odbc driver windows 7 32 bit

The Excel VBA code was using ADODB.Connection and setting CursorLocation = adUseClient . The PostgreSQL 32-bit ODBC driver, version 9.3+ on Windows 7, had a known but rarely documented bug: when adUseClient was set before opening the connection, the driver failed to negotiate the bytea type mapping correctly with the 32-bit PostgreSQL client library — especially if any column in the queried table was type bytea (even if not selected). The driver would throw a generic -2147467259 instead of a meaningful error. On Windows 7 32-bit with PostgreSQL ODBC, the

Here’s a solid, realistic troubleshooting story based on a genuine pain point with the PostgreSQL ODBC driver on Windows 7 32-bit. The Ghost in the 32-Bit Pipeline Opened the 32-bit version ( C:\Windows\SysWOW64\odbcad32

I documented the fix in a Word doc on the desktop and locked the driver version. The system ran until 2020, when Windows 7 was finally retired and the plant upgraded to Windows 10 LTSC — using the same 32-bit ODBC driver in compatibility mode.