I installed the MDAC 2.8 and still no help. But I found this in the Business Objects Knowledgebase which may be my problem. The following information was in a PDF file called cr_dbconn_troubleshooting.pdf

Database Connectivity Troubleshooting for Crystal Reports Version 8.5
Granted I am using Crystal Reports 11, but this might apply to me...

Here is what the PDF technical paper said...

Crystal Reports (CR) is a third-party report-writing tool. External factors may
affect a successful connection to your database. These factors may include
issues with the ODBC administrator, your database or a specific native (direct)
driver.
Often, it is necessary to perform several different tests and to answer a series of
questions to isolate where the issue may exist. The troubleshooting process
helps to narrow down the cause of the issue that you are experiencing.
Record the answers of each of the troubleshooting questions. The answers can
later be evaluated to help you narrow down what is causing the issue.
1: If you are using a SQL-type database
Examples of SQL-type database: Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server,
Sybase, Informix, IBM DB2, Pervasive.

HERE IS THE KEY QUESTION, which I could not answer "Yes" to the first part about the database client software installed on my hard drive...

You must be able to answer ‘yes’ to the following:
• Is the database client software installed? This needs to be installed
on the local computer drive.
• Is the database client software’s root directory (for example,
‘C:\MSSQL\BIN’ for SQL Server) properly referenced in the
computer’s search path?
How to verify that the database client software's root directory is
referenced in the computer's search path
Crystal Reports Database Connectivity Troubleshooting FAQ
10/7/2002 4:40 PM Copyright  2001 Crystal Decisions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Page 4
1. From the Start command, left-click Run. Type “command”
or “cmd”.
2. At the command prompt or DOS prompt, type “path”.
This needs to be in the search path on your computer in order to load the
appropriate driver dependency files.
NOTE For further information, search for the following knowledge base article, C2008004, How
to Check your Windows Search Path on our support site at
http://support.crystaldecisions.com/kbase
• Are you able to connect to the database through the database client
software?
(i.e. SQL Plus in Oracle)
You must be able to connect to the database outside of Crystal Reports. If this
does not work, you need to have your systems administrator or database
administrator properly configure your computer.

If this is true, then I need to get my client's SQL Server software installed on my PC, but I did not think that I needed it because I used a Connection String instead.

I'll keep looking for answers. So far I cannot connect to the remote SQL Server database although I am connected to their remote server.