This article applies to:
- Marshal Product Line
- SQL Server
- SQL Express
Symptoms:
- Entering database information (username and password)
- Error message: Format of the initialization string does not conform to the OLE DB specification
- Error message: Format of the initialization string does not conform to the specification starting at index ...
- Additional messages may include "User could not be set as the operational user"
Causes:
- The user account or password entered contains characters that are invalid for the SQL server.
- Generally a username should not contain spaces, commas, or high-order characters. Digits, letters, and most other punctuation are allowed.
- Collation and localization of the server can affect what is allowed.
Resolution:
To resolve this issue, use credentials that contain only valid characters.