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Credit to Author: Woody Leonhard| Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2017 08:08:00 -0700<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m seeing many reports<\/a>, in various locations<\/a>, about this month\u2019s Windows security patches breaking custom programs that import and export Excel XLS files. Programs that have worked for years are suddenly, mysteriously, turning belly-up. The most common symptom is an error message that says \u201cUnexpected error from external database driver\u201d followed by a number.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no mention of the error in any KB article that I can find, and it isn\u2019t listed on the Fixes or workarounds for recent issues in Excel for Windows<\/a> site. Either Microsoft isn’t aware of the problem, or it isn’t commenting on it.<\/p>\n On the Stack Overflow site<\/a>, poster xMRi states:<\/p>\n The problem arises in fact due to a bug in the security updates. Currently I see no other solution than to uninstall, the security patch or using another export format. Affected patches are:<\/p>\n KB4041681 \u2014 2017-10 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows 7 for x86-based Systems<\/p>\n KB4041678 \u2014 2017-10 Security Only Quality Update for Windows Embedded Standard 7 for x64-based Systems<\/p>\n KB4041693 \u2014 2017-10 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows 8.1 for x86-based Systems<\/p>\n KB4041687 \u2014 2017-10 Security Only Quality Update for Windows 8.1 for x86-based Systems<\/p>\n KB4041691 \u2014 2017-10 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1607 and Windows Server 2016<\/p>\n KB4041676 \u2014 2017-10 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1703<\/p>\n There are many proposed solutions. Two of them seem to work, at least for most of the people. The easiest (and most reliable) solution is to simply uninstall the appropriate October Windows update.<\/p>\n The other approach is a bit more complex \u2014 and hard to explain.<\/p>\n According to fred.schulz on the Technet forum<\/a>, who credits a thread on the Embarcadero forum<\/a>, some (or all) of those Windows updates install version 4.0.9801.1 of msexcl40.dll. (No explanation why a Windows security patch would install a new version of the Excel runtime, but, hey, this is Microsoft.) Apparently that\u2019s at the core of the problem. Schulz\u2019s solution:<\/p>\n Thanks to reader RD.<\/p>\n Have a better solution \u2014 or explanation? Join us on the AskWoody Lounge<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.computerworld.com\/category\/security\/index.rss<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Credit to Author: Woody Leonhard| Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2017 08:08:00 -0700<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m seeing many reports<\/a>, in various locations<\/a>, about this month\u2019s Windows security patches breaking custom programs that import and export Excel XLS files. Programs that have worked for years are suddenly, mysteriously, turning belly-up. The most common symptom is an error message that says \u201cUnexpected error from external database driver\u201d followed by a number.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n