Installing SQL Server 2008 Express
November 12, 2008
Installing SQL Server 2008 Express - you'd think it would be simple, but you'd be wrong! Here are the steps you will need to go through (on Windows XP at least!)
- Download and Install: .NET Framework 3.5 Service pack 1
- Reboot
- Download and Install: Windows Installer 4.5 Redistributable
- Reboot
- Download and Install: Windows PowerShell 1.0 English-Language Installation Package for Windows XP (KB926139)
- Reboot
- If you have Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express installed, then you need to uninstall it.
- Reboot
- Download and Install: Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 Express with Tools
- Reboot (spotted a theme yet?)
Now you need to set SQL Server 2008 Express to accept connections from ColdFusion by allowing connections from TCP/IP (which is disabled by default).
To enable it...
- go to Start -> Programs -> Microsoft SQL Server 2008 -> Configuration Tools -> SQL Server Configuration Manager.
- In the SQL Server Network Configuration node, click on the Protocols for SQLEXPRESS node.
- Click on TCP/IP, and enable it.
You should now be able to connect on port 2775. It is a good idea to lock TCP/IP connections down to one port (for security or to allow another instance of SQL Server to run). SQL Server 2000 used port 1433, so I like to do the same for 2008. To set the port, click on the "IP Address" tab and clear the value for “TCP Dynamic Ports” and enter the port you want to use in the “TcpPort” box. You will need to use the same port when setting up your datasource in the ColdFusion administrator.
Important: You will need to restart the SQL Server Service for it pick up your changes, which you can do from the SQL Server Services node in SQL Server Configuration Manager or from the Services Control Panel.
- Posted in:
- SQL
- ColdFusion
15 comments
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Surely the installer would detect what's missing from your Windows installation and automatically offer to download and install the missing components for you? Or perhaps MS assumed SQL users don't need so much hand holding? Well we don't, but it's more of a convenience feature if it was to have it.
Comment by Gary Fenton – November 12, 2008
The installer does check that you have the required elements, however it just shows a report saying it failed with no useful links to the download. It also doesn't check for all requirements in one go!
Comment by John Whish – November 12, 2008
Comment by Tariq Ahmed – November 22, 2008
Comment by John Whish – November 22, 2008
I have donw all steps (with the reboots)
when I install the Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 Express with Tools (I have it as an exe file downloaded from the link you provided) it extracts all files and opens the admin window. When I try to install a new SQL database it runs and gives an error saying that reboot required and failed. I rebooted several times and no luck.
Any idea?
Regards
Comment by Mahmood – December 21, 2008
Comment by John Whish – December 23, 2008
I've been hasseling with that sql server exp 2008 download for a good month. I also keep getting the "Needs reboot" bull. Here's what I've tried to no avail of course.
Ran Search and Destroy, cleaned everything even the non leathal stuff.
Rebooted
Ran Registry Mechanic, it fixed all but 2 items and of course it won't say what it couldn't fix.
Rebooted
Ran Regedit, searched for everything that I could find for "restart" and "Restart". All the entries I found I modified from a value of 1 to 0.
Rebooted again, all still well on the easter front (can't remember if I checked the western).
Ran Registry Mechanic again, no error found
Rebooted again
Download and save to desktop.
Reboot
Install
And needless to say the thorn in our you know whats still lives, Ba humbug.
I'm going to give it up as a lost cause. My rear is getting sore. The end.
Got another pain and it's byting me right now as I type this. If my cursor is on any active control for instance this comment box, there's this little box trying to tell me what to do. Can't stand taking orders from people let alone from inanimat objects. Any Ideas?
Good luck to all of you
Comment by Robert Harris – January 25, 2009
Comment by John Whish – January 26, 2009
I was almost on the verge of writing a similar piece a couple of months ago, but decided not to. I vented my frustration and anger on my mountainbike instead (not kicking it, using it for a long trailrun in the woods!) ;-) I ended up not finishing the process and still only have SQL Express 2005 on my machine, next to MSSQL 2000 Enterprise Manager. I cannot seem to deinstall all the junk properly either, no matter how many times I run CrapCleaner or reboot. Everytime I want to open a sql-file it tries to do so via Express 2008 which still somewhere in the MS-jungle in my XP machine is a valid software tool to open SQL-files with. Of course it immediately comes with an error, and then I have to manually open it with Notepad or another tool.
Bluaerk - sux bigtime! So no SQL Express 2008 testing for me, I'm a MySQL guy anyways ;-)
Comment by Sebastiaan – February 04, 2009
How's life vering in the bit bucket, great I hope.
As for me, just a smidgen better. I fierd 2008
and hired 2005, thats both the VB and the server. I had some cleanup to do after the uninstall of 2005 but that seems to be the absolute norm with anything from MS, their smart but very trashy. Come to think of it my son is like that and he is an aerospace
engineer. I would never have guessed until now,I must have missed a class or two in collage since I'm not like that, I think.
Anyway, I'm not out of the fire yet. Problem now is I haven't been able to figure out where to place the code for connection and extraction
without using the Gui to write those items for me. True its much less coding but the drawback is less undstanding about what's really going on under the hood. I'm the kind of guy that needs to know or I'm not a happy camper.
Would you know a good book that puts VB and the server together in one nice little package?
A small sample pgm that connects to a DB, attaches a couple of related tables, greasess the data and saves it back. That would be a great thing to find.
The internet is a great big book but its table of contents leaves a lot to be desired. I'm always finding samples that are incomplete, do all authors of tutorials work for MS? Seems like it to me.
I've been wondering why when you switched back to vb 2005 you didn't upgrade your server? Am I missing so hidden wisdom here?
Well catch again some time
Robert
Comment by Robert – February 07, 2009
Comment by John Whish – February 08, 2009
Comment by Aninda – February 18, 2009
Comment by John Whish – February 18, 2009
So to cut to the chase: I only use MS products for testing purposes, the rest is open source ;-)
Sorry I couldn't be of more help to you!
Comment by Sebastiaan – February 18, 2009
Comment by baccarat strategy – February 25, 2009