Thanks for that. The problem there is that I cannot create the system dsn. I get the error:

'The setup routines for the Lotus NotesSQL Driver (*.nsf) ODBC driver could not be loaded due to system error code 126'

so had to set it up as a file DSN.

Most of the bumph for this error says to check the registry is pointing to the same place the files are stored and this it does, so I don't know where to go from there. I installed teh latest MDAC but nothing changed.

Can I not set up a Linked Server to a file dsn?

The file DSN was setup OK. I know this because I can use it as a connection in DTS and successfully import various tables (although it does not work with the import wizard).

I set the linked server up to the file dsn but I keep getting errors:

'7399 Invalid Connection String attribute]

(not sure what I was supposed to enter in the 'Product String' dialog box) Datasource name not found and no default driver specified]....'

Any help much appreciated. wyatt.anderson@nwmhp.nhs.uk