Chapter 11

cuddling101 · February 21st, 2010, 09:55 AM

Configuration: Windows XP SP3 stand-alone PC, no network link, apart from standard Internet on broadband - using book to build a website for deployment in mid 2010, hopefully

When I tried to double-click the database file as per step 4 in the first TIO in Chapter 11, I got the message -

Timeout expired. The timeout period elapsed prior to completion of the operation or the server is not responding. Common reasons for this problem include that the server is not installed, the service is not started or the server is upgrading your database. If an upgrade is in process, you will be able to connect to the data base when the upgrade is complete.

I did an SQL Server re-install

I then ran a configuration diagnosis tool and got the message -

TITLE: SQL Server Setup failure.
------------------------------

SQL Server Setup has encountered the following error:

The system cannot find the file specified.

------------------------------
BUTTONS:

OK
------------------------------

Along the way, before I did the re-install, I also tried to do a repair of installation and it asked me to tell it where my installation files were. I told it the directory where I had put the Express related installation stuff, a few months ago, but it said it was not a a valid installation directory. When I did the re-install the system just went ahead and did it using a system called Microsoft Web Platform Installer, and I had no chance to see where it put the installation files.

I tried to do step 4 again and I got the same message.

I look forward to some guidance as to what I might now check, do etc.

Philip Hunt
Medina, Kwinana
Perth, Western Australia

Imar · February 22nd, 2010, 06:22 AM

Hi there,

What's the name of the installed instance of SQL Server? Is it called Express? Or are you running multiple versions at the same time now?

I would try un installing all versions and then reinstall Express 2008. I believe there are tools available that help you with broken MSI installations, but I can't recommend much here.

Imar

cuddling101 · February 25th, 2010, 08:58 AM

Dear Imar

I uninstalled everything to do with SQL Server, both 2005 and 2008 that was on the machine and then reinstalled SQL Server Express 2008, as I understood your advice to be. When trying the double click on the Try It Out related database I now get the message that .mdf files require SQL Server Express 2005 to work properly. As I have uninstalled 2005 and installed 2008, and 2005 is now no longer available, where do I go from here.

With thanks in anticipation.

Philip

Imar · February 25th, 2010, 09:14 AM

Hi Philip ,

When you post messages like these, can you post the exact error message? "I now get the message that .mdf files require SQL Server Express 2005 to work properly" could mean a lot of things, depending on the exact error message.

And again: what's the name of the named instance of SQL Server Express? Is it called SqlExpress? Can you access it using tools such as SQL Server Management Studio?

Imar

cuddling101 · February 27th, 2010, 11:09 PM

Dear Imar

I'm sorry I didn't post every last word of the message received but the words ".mdf ... properly" were a quote from 80% of the message received.

Anyway that is now past. I regret that it seems on that occasion the SQL installation may have not worked properly, even though I thought it had. I am now back at the original error message that started this thread.

I have now confirmed successful SQL Express 2008 installation and am able to open SQL Server Management Studio. As you have been hinting at I do not see either your Try It Out book resources provided database or my own How and Why Wonder Books database.

When I open SQL Server 2008 Management Studio it comes up with a start up screen that shows

Server type - options available of "Database Engine" or "SQL Server Compact Edition" [I chose Database Engine]

Server name PIP\SQLEXPRESS, also option to browse for more but I don't know where to browse to, or even if I should [PIP is the name of my computer - set somewhere in Windows set-up, I can't remember where]

Authentication - options available of Windows Authentication or SQL Server Authentication [I left it at Windows Authentication]

There were also greyed out boxes for username and password. The username bit already had PIP\Pip Hunt in it, which is my computer name and user name.

Any further avenues of checking, changing of parameters etc advice would be welcome.

With thanks in anticipation

Philip

Imar · February 28th, 2010, 05:10 AM

Quote:

I'm sorry I didn't post every last word of the message received but the words ".mdf ... properly" were a quote from 80% of the message received.

Yes, but 80% coverage results in over 60,000 results on Google, with most of the results being irrelevant. An exact error message on the other hand takes you to posts from other people that ran into the exact same issue.

Quote:

When I open SQL Server 2008 Management Studio it comes up with a start up screen that shows

Server type - options available of "Database Engine" or "SQL Server Compact Edition" [I chose Database Engine]

Server name PIP\SQLEXPRESS, also option to browse for more but I don't know where to browse to, or even if I should [PIP is the name of my computer - set somewhere in Windows set-up, I can't remember where]

Authentication - options available of Windows Authentication or SQL Server Authentication [I left it at Windows Authentication]

There were also greyed out boxes for username and password. The username bit already had PIP\Pip Hunt in it, which is my computer name and user name.

That all sounds right. However, opening SSMS is not enough. Can you actually log in at this screen? The user name is greyed out because the default is to use Windows Authentication. What happens when you log in?

And more questions: what's the name of your Express instance? Are you sure it's PIP\SqlExpress? Use "SQL Server Configuration Manager" (somewhere on the Start Menu) to find out. And where do you get the timeout error? In VWD or in SSMS?

Imar

cuddling101 · March 1st, 2010, 01:57 AM

Hello Imar

Thank you for all the help you are giving me. I hope the following answers all your questions, and we can together get to the nub of this problem.

When I tried to use SQL Server Authentication I used a username of Pip Hunt and the password that I had set up when installing SQL and I got the message -

***

TITLE: Connect to Server
------------------------------

Cannot connect to PIP\SQLEXPRESS.

------------------------------
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Login failed for user 'Pip Hunt'. (Microsoft SQL Server, Error: 18456)

For help, click: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?ProdN...6&LinkId=20476

------------------------------
BUTTONS:

OK
------------------------------
***

I obtained the same error when trying PIP\Pip Hunt, PIP\Administrator, and Administrator and the password that I had set up when installing SQL.

I also obtained the same error when trying the immediately above three without a password.

I obtained the following different error when trying Pip Hunt, without a password -

***

TITLE: Connect to Server
------------------------------

Cannot connect to PIP\SQLEXPRESS.

------------------------------
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

A connection was successfully established with the server, but then an error occurred during the login process. (provider: Shared Memory Provider, error: 0 - No process is on the other end of the pipe.) (Microsoft SQL Server, Error: 233)

For help, click: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?ProdN...3&LinkId=20476

------------------------------
BUTTONS:

OK
------------------------------

***

When I use Windows Authentication (the greyed out username reads PIP\Pip Hunt and no password is showing), I get into SQL Server Management Studio and get the heading -

PIP\SQLEXPRESS (SQL Server - PIP\Pip Hunt)

and the two databases appear under Databases, as per instructions in Chapter 18/Appendix B.

++++++++

When I first tried to go to SQL Server Configuration Manager I got a message about taking too long to find named machine. I'm sorry for the paraphrased message, but it only stayed there for a short time and then went on to the SQL Server Configuration Manager (SSCM) main screen. I have not been able to reproduce that particular error message again.

On the SSCM main screen I find SQL Server Configuration Manager (Local)

Under that is SQL Server Services:

Name State Start Mode Log On As Process ID Service Type
SQL Server (SQLEXPRESS) Running Automatic NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE 652 SQL Server
SQL Server Agent (SQLEXPRESS) Stopped Other (Boot, System, Disabled or Unknown)
NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE 0 SQL Agent
SQL Server Browser Stopped Other (Boot, System, Disabled or Unknown)
NT AUTHORITY\LOCAL SERVICE 0 SQL Agent

Under SQL Server Network Configuration I find Protocols for SQLEXPRESS and within that Shared Memory is Enabled while Named Pipes, TCP/IP and VIA are Disabled.

Under SQL Native Client 10.0 Configuration I find Client Protocols with all but VIA now being Enabled and in the order Shared Memory, TCP/IP, then Named Pipes. Aliases is empty.

++++++++

I get the timeout error in VWD.

Please ask for more details as you need them.

With many thanks in anticipation.

Philip

Imar · March 1st, 2010, 10:45 AM

Quote:

When I use Windows Authentication (the greyed out username reads PIP\Pip Hunt and no password is showing), I get into SQL Server Management Studio and get the heading -

PIP\SQLEXPRESS (SQL Server - PIP\Pip Hunt)

and the two databases appear under Databases, as per instructions in Chapter 18/Appendix B.

That's exactly how it should be, isn't it? By default, SQL Server only allows Windows Authentication. So the fact you can't log in with a user name, but can log in with windows authentication makes perfect sense to me.

Quote:

Under SQL Server Network Configuration I find Protocols for SQLEXPRESS and within that Shared Memory is Enabled while Named Pipes, TCP/IP and VIA are Disabled.

Depending on how you're connecting (SQL Server on the same box or not) you may need to enable TCP and Named Pipes. Page 690 of Appendix B explains how to do this.

From what you describe, things look in order. With what exactly are you now having problems? What happens when you create a new database in App_Data in VWD? Does that work?

Imar