Why do I get General error Unable to open registry key 'DriverId'?

The following error can happen when the Internet Guest Account (IUSR_<machine>) does not have sufficient privileges on the MDB file (or the folder it resides in): 
 

Microsoft OLE DB Provider for ODBC Drivers (0x80004005)  [Microsoft][ODBC Microsoft Access Driver]General error Unable to open  registry key 'Temporary (volatile) Jet DSN for process 0x9ac Thread 0xa0c  DBC 0x15d1024 Jet'.

 
First thing you should do, is stop using ODBC drivers. If you use the JET OLE DB drivers instead (see Article #2126 for a sample connection string), at the very least you'll get a more meaningful error message. Also make sure to apply the most recent MDAC update (MDAC Download Page) and the most recent JET drivers (see Article #2342). 
 
 
Back to the permissions issue. This can happen right from the start, because proper permissions were never applied. However, it can also happen when a compact and repair operation against the MDB file resets permissions. So, if your database is getting corrupted often enough, you might find that compacting and repairing the database file also leaves you with this error on your pages. (Of course, one way around this is to use a real database, if you can. See Article #2195 for many of the other limitations of Access.) If you are running Windows XP and are still having permissions problems, see Article #2205. 
 
You may also want to check out these KB articles: 
 
    KB #315456 FP: Error: Unable to Open Jet Temporary Key When You Attempt to Connect to Database 
 
    KB #295297 PRB: Err Msg: 0x80004005: General Error Unable to Open Registry Key