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.