Question : How do I install an Oracle 10g client without installing the Oracle database

I need to set up a linked server from Microsoft SQL to an Oracle database, so I need to set up an ODBC connection to Oracle.  The Oracle ODBC drivers all require the Oracle client.

The machine I want to install the Oracle Client on is a Windows XP client on a network connected to an existing Oracle database on a Linux server that I need to connect to.  I have the host name, TSN service name, user and password I need for that database.  I tried to use the Oracle instant client with the ODBC driver it installed, but was never able to get it to resolve the TSN service name, despite my efforts to create .ora files and set environment directories.  I have uninstalled the instant client per the ISV's recommendation and resorted to attempting to install the Oracle Client (i.e. the non-instant 10g client).

Although I can download the client alone, I don't have an Oracle Universal Installer on this machine, so I can't install it.  So I downloaded the full Oracle 10g database package for Windows 32-bit, which contains the OUI.  I've unpacked it, but I don't know what to do next. When I run setup.exe, it wants to install a new Oracle database on the local machine, which is most definitely NOT what I want to do.

So, from this point, what do I need to do in order to get the client installed and talking to the already-installed database on the Linux server, and a working ODBC connection set up as a system DSN?

Answer : How do I install an Oracle 10g client without installing the Oracle database

Oracle config files are pretty particular about formatting.  It's a leftover from the 20+ years ago Oracle wrote the code.

Make the tnsname.ora entry look like (copy and paste exactly as-is):
onstaff =
  (DESCRIPTION =
    (ADDRESS_LIST =
      (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = A606)(PORT = 1521))
    )
    (CONNECT_DATA =
      (SERVICE_NAME = onstaff)
    )
  )