Hi there,

I wanted to ask whether it is a limitation of VB 2005 or am i doing something wrong? I basically am trying to from connect from a PC (PC1) to a .MDF database on a server (running MS Server 2003 Standard Ed). I have created an ODBC Data Source (on the PC1) and MS Access is able to connect to this database and access the tables with no problems. But when I try to code this or use the 'Add new data source' wizard in VB 2005 I get an error message:


An error has occurred while establishing a connection to the server. When connecting to SQL Server 2005, this failure may be caused by the fact that under the default settings SQL Server does not allow remote connections. (provider: SQL Network Interfaces, error: 26 - Error Locating Server/Instance Specified)


I have also tried to connect to this by install VB 2005 on the Server, but get the same message so I am guessing it is a limitation of the software or the database is not configured properly. But if that is the case then why can Access access it from across the network?

I understand in sql 2005 the database magement is more flexible with a manager, how can I configure previous versions of SQL server that dont have configuration manager?

Thanks very much for you time and help

Best regards,

Derek

Guessing here, but I would guess that you are encountering a security issue, not a software limitation.

Hi Brian,

Thanks for your reply, i have gone into the enterprise manager and granted access to my username on the domain. however i still cannot access it. I hav also shared the MS SQL Server folder and granted my username with full permissions, this has allowed me to see the MDF before I couldnt go into the folder where it was in. I just cant open it now through VB express. The ODBC connection is fine though.
Can VB Express connect to databases (.MDF) running SQL Enterprise Manager ver 8?

thank you for you time and help.

Derek

I am very new at this but... from what I have seen VB 2005 Express can only connect with the SQL Native client to the localhost. I was also unable to connect to a server running SQL 2005 with VB 2005 Express. I was only able to connect to SQL 2005 Express or my locally installed SQL 2005 Developer's Edition.

If anyone knows another way please let us know...

Thanks!