import esri Personal Geodatabase (.mdb) to PostGIS

Question

I would like to import an esri Personal Geodatabase (.mdb) to PostGIS. I have tried to follow the blog post:

How to import esri Personal Geodatabase (.mdb) to PostGIS on Linux

I installed the GDAL tool suite (using gdal-110-1600-x64-core.msi), but whenever I try to run ogr2ogr, I get the following error:

ogr2ogr -f "PostgreSQL" PG:"host=localhost user=penusr dbname=my_pg_db password=my_pg_db_pass port=5432" C:\data\PROVINCES_2013.mdb -a_srs EPSG:26986
ERROR 1: Unable to initialize ODBC connection to DSN for DRIVER=Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb);DBQ=C:\data\PROVINCES_20
13.mdb,
[Microsoft][ODBC Driver Manager] Data source name not found and no default driver specified
FAILURE:
Unable to open datasource C:\data\PROVINCES_2013.mdb' with the following drivers.
  -> ESRI Shapefile
  -> PostgreSQL
... list of many more.

Does this error typically indicate a problem with connecting to my Postgre DB, or something else? Am I missing some settings? I am fairly sure that the dbname and password are correct.

If I go to the ODBC Data Source Administrator window, I can see that under the Drivers tab PostgreSQL ANSI(x64) and PostgreSQL Unicode(x64) are listed.

Answer 1

Here is how to solve the "data source name not found" issue. ODBC reads the data source name (DSN) from a plain-text file in your home directory called ~/.odbc.ini . Each .mdb file needs a unique DSN written into this file. You may be able to auto-generate it using GUI apps, but the ODBC developer recommends just using your favorite text editor to edit the file.

I have seen and used typically five descriptors for each .mdb:

[nickname_for_odbc_connection]
Description = Whatever description you choose
Driver = {FULLPATH}/libmdbodbc.so
Database = {FULLPATH}/yourfile.mdb
Servername = localhost

Adapt the above five lines to your particular circumstances, and paste them into the ~/.obdc.ini file, and that constitutes a DSN for that file. This seems to solve the "driver not specified" error.

You will need to locate the driver you will use, in order to fill out that {FULLPATH}. Mine was not installed where others show it on their web postings from a few years ago, so the install-pattern of mdbtools may have changed; thus, seek it anew on your own system.