FIX: Import of Text File Results in Error "Column Delimiter not found" (301060)

SYMPTOMS

If Data Transformation Services (DTS) is used to import a text file into SQL Server, the import may fail with the following error message:

Error at Source for Row number 7963. Errors encountered so far in this task: 1. Column Delimiter not found.

If the default batch size was selected, the import will be rolled back and no data will exist in the specified destination table.

This error may be seen even in text files whose row and column delimiters are correctly formatted.

RESOLUTION

SQL Server 2000

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft SQL Server 2000. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

290211 INF: How to Obtain the Latest SQL Server 2000 Service Pack

WORKAROUND

You can work around this problem in the following ways:

Use the bulk copy program (BCP) or BULK INSERT statement to import the data into a SQL Server table.
Use the Microsoft Text Driver to specify the source text file.
Make either of the following modifications to the text file to cause the Import wizard to complete successfully:
1. Add or delete a character in any row or column of the text file.
2. Add or delete a row anywhere between row 1 and row 7963 in the text file.

STATUS

SQL Server 2000

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in SQL Server 2000. This problem was first corrected in SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 1.

SQL Server 7.0

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in SQL Server 7.0.

MORE INFORMATION

The Microsoft Jet provider is the driver that may generate the error listed above. When using the SQL Server Import/Export Wizard, choosing "Text File" as the Data Source results in the Microsoft Jet provider being used to import the text file. When creating a DTS package, the "Text File (Source)" connection object also uses the Microsoft Jet provider.

Using the Microsoft Text driver, listed as Microsoft Text Treiber (*.txt; *.csv) in either of these tools may not result in the error when importing the same text file.