I had previously gone through a tedious process to download and install VS Studio Express 2005 and SQL Server Express 2005 but had not used them. I have used VS.Net and programmed in VBA. SQL Server 2005 Express was the same as in the book but the screen that came up with my VSS 2005 did not look like the one in Figure 3-1. I was able to configure it to look somewhat like the figure in the book but there appeared to be no way to show the WinForm window. I was able to create a Solution but not a Project since the only template was one with no Projects. I was also unable to connect to the database. I was able to set up VS.Net including linking to a SQL Server. I hate to uninstall and reinstall 2005 from the CD but it looks like I may not have a choice. Any one else have this problem?

My error, I was trying to use Visual Studio 2005 rather than Visual Basic 2005 Express. I have both installed. Now when I try to add a database to my project, I get an error that says "Connections to SQL Server Files require SQL Server Express to function properly. Please verify installation of the component or download from ... etc" Anybody have this problem?

After a great deal of research and tweaking just about everything, I finally gave up and used "Add or Remove" to repair the Visual Basic Express installation. As part of the repair, even though it was already installed, I added the optional SQL Server 2005 Express and selected a download as the source for the installation file. It downloaded the entire 55M but installed very quickly as if it were adding very little to the curent installation of SQL Server. The end result is that Visual Basic Works with SQL databases and my SQL Server Express installation was not affected. On to Chapter 4.

 The install procedures for SQL Server and related components is extremely complicated. I kept meticulous notes of what I installed and when. Installing it may be more difficult than actually using it.