Cannot initialize ASI error when trying to start Civil 3D 2013

The symtoms and solution of the error message 'Cannot initialize ASI' pointed to an older technical solution.

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS1055101

The problem is that this solution was only problematic when 64 bit operating systems were 'rare'.  I have not seen this error before with the Windows 7 x64 so installing MDAC should not be necessary.   So, what is the solution?

Here is another similar issue with the 'Insert WSE 3.0 Disk and click OK Message' blog post.  The solution is to not download, search  or install a pre-requisite. 

The solution is to perform...

"...a complete uninstall all the AutoCAD 2012 base products. Cleaning up the folders and then installing them back. I have not been able to reproduce the issue on my test box but it looks like it was a mix of windows updates and us removing 2012 that did it."

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS45252

Thanks to Jeff Cambell for sharing this tip with the community.