When SAS/ACCESS Interface to PC Files is installed with Microsoft Access Runtime version 16 drivers, SAS failures might occur after you apply certain Microsoft updates.

If you encounter similar behavior when using Microsoft 365 Apps, refer to SAS KB0036381 instead.

In the scenario for Microsoft Office 2016 / Microsoft Access Runtime version 16, the SAS log shows messages similar to the following: 

When this condition occurs, the Windows Event Viewer typically shows the faulting module as ACEOLEDB.DLL or mso20win32client.dll. Here is an example:

Since ACEOLEDB.DLL and mso20win32client.dll are used when working with Microsoft Office file types such as Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access, this issue is most often encountered when you use SAS/ACCESS Interface to PC Files with LIBNAME or PROC statements. 

Microsoft Support has confirmed this problem was corrected in subsequent versions of Update for Office 2016, beginning with KB5002226. They recommend using one of these fixes:

• The preferred method is to use Microsoft Update to keep the Office clients updated.
• If that is not allowed in your environment or if you'd prefer to target this specific issue, you can manually install the fix from this link:  Update for Office 2016 - Microsoft KB5002226

 

If you do not want to apply the Microsoft fix in your environment right away, there are two known workarounds for this issue:

1. Roll back the Microsoft Office updates that were applied before the error started occurring. Some known updates that might contribute to this issue are Microsoft KB5002160 and Microsoft KB5002182, but others might also be involved depending on your specific environment. 
 

2. If you are working with Excel files when the issue occurs, using the SAS XLSX engine instead of EXCEL bypasses the problematic Microsoft components.

• EXCEL is the default engine unless otherwise specified in your code.
   
• To change the engine to XLSX, use DBMS=XLSX within a PROC statement, or LIBNAME mylib XLSX for LIBNAME statements.