Thanks again. I think the confusion arises from the fact the OLEDB connector in the Crystal 'Database Expert' is labelled 'OLE DB (ADO)'. This could imply that Crystal is using 'Classic ADO' (the ADODB Com component) INTERNALLY to access the database. If this is the case, we would want to move to another connection method (ODBC?), as Microsoft have stated that the ADODB Com component is unreliable in server apps - particularly ASP.NET.
Given that Microsoft have stated that ADODB was only provided in a .NET environment as a temporary solution, to give users time to migrate, I would hope that Crystal is using some other technology internally to access the database, and that the '(ADO)' in the database expert connection OLEDB option is simply misleading, but I am hoping someone 'in the know', such as yourself, could confirm this.
It doesn't affect us, as we are unlikely to need to access any later versions of SQL Server, but, if you were not already aware, Microsoft have stated that SQL 2012 will be the last version to support OLE DB. Future versions will only support ODBC.
Converting SQL Server Applications from OLE DB to ODBC
John