The following procedure can be used to manually install the 64-bit Microsoft Access Database Engine (2016) on a computer that already has 32-bit Microsoft Office installed and running (versions 2007, 2010, 2013, or 2016).
This manual workaround is not required if you already have 64-bit MS Office already installed.
The procedure is as follows:
- From a command prompt (run cmd.exe from a Windows search), enter the file path and name of the 64-bit Microsoft Access Database Engine (2016) install file, followed by a space and the switch /passive, for example C:\Users\<ProfileName>\Downloads\AccessDatabaseEngine_x64.exe /passive. The /passive switch runs the installation without showing any error messages.
- When a 32-bit Office application is launched it will detect the presence of the 64-bit driver and display a Reconfiguring message (and launch a process that takes some time). This can be prevented from happening by:
- Opening the Registry Editor (regedit.exe from a Windows search).
- Browsing to one of the following paths (depending on the version of Office installed):
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Common\FilesPaths
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Common\FilesPaths
- Locating and deleting or renaming the registry value: mso.dll
Note that if you do not delete or rename the mso.dll registry entry, you will get a Reconfiguring message each time an Office application is accessed.