Setting up Oracle ODBC on Windows 7

Just a quick note note of the steps I took to setup a Oracle 11g ODBC connection on a Windows 7 desktop:

• Download the appropriate Oracle Instant Client
• Get the Basic and the ODBC zip files
• Unzip both into the same folder (e.g. C:\OracleInstantClient\ )
• Execute odbc_install.exe in the Instant Client Folder
• Change your System Environment variables:
• Add the Instant Client Folder to the path
• Create a ORACLE_HOME and add the Instant Client Folder
• Create a “network\admin” folder in the Instant Client folder and create your tnsnames.ora file in there, with the appropriate values.
• You are now able to create a DSN in the ODBC manager using the Oracle driver that uses the TNS names defined in the .ora file

Hope this helps someone