How to fix error message: Provider cannot be found

Let's check first to see if the installation has been done correctly. 
This can be done in several places in Windows; however, the best would be to check directly from within the Geobank application. 
We'll need to check both places (as they may reference different drivers). One is on a splash initial screen, and the second is in the Datasources properties of the particular data source.

1. Open the Connection Properties in Geobank.
2. Note what is already installed and listed there, like SQL Server Native Client 11.0 or OLE DB Driver for SQL Server, etc., in the Provider tab.

If there is already more than one data source registered, then based on the connection string, check out which drivers each data source tries to connect to the SQL Server.
If these expected drivers are not on a list, we must install them manually.

Based on the information available from Microsoft, here's a breakdown of the SQL Server Native Client 11 (SNAC 11) support:

• Discontinuation of Shipping:
  • SQL Server Native Client (SNAC) is not shipped with:
    • SQL Server 2022 (16.x) and later versions.
    • SQL Server Management Studio 19 and later versions.
• Support Lifecycle:
  • Limited support is provided for SQL Native Client 11.0, which is installed by SQL Server 2012 through 2019 until the SQL Server's end-of-support lifecycles.
  • This limited support is primarily for SQL Server components that rely on SNAC 11.  
• Recommendations:
  • Microsoft advises using:
    • ODBC Driver for SQL Server.
    • OLE DB Driver for SQL Server (MSOLEDBSQL) - PREFERRED.

OLE DB Driver for SQL Server

Starting with SQL Server 2017, the OLE DB Driver for SQL Server is no longer included in the SQL Server installation package.

• Similarly, SSMS does not include the OLE DB Driver for SQL Server by default.
• You can download and install the driver separately from Microsoft Download Center.

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 Native Client

If, for some reason, your PC is too old and may potentially not support OLE drivers (which is unlikely), or you keep using the old Geobank version (like GB-2013), then you still could download and install Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Native Client drivers.

• Open the link to the Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Native Client.
• The links to the SQL Server 2012 Feature Pack components can be found in the "INSTRUCTIONS" section, which is about halfway down the SQL Server 2012 Feature Pack page.
• Once you navigate to the section, click on the link to the Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 Native Client from there.
  

Select the X64 Package.

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