This issue is related to MDAC, and can be repaired/reinstalled by doing the following:

To repair a copy of MDAC 2.8 on WinXP with SP2 installed

first, locate the mdac.inf file in

c:\windows\inf

right click and select "install"

when prompted for a location, point to

c:\windows\servicepackfiles\i386

then when promted for the XP-CD,

either load the CD or point to c:\i386

this reinstalls / repairs MDAC 2.8