I was just given a laptop to perform some development from a client and I am currently in the process of setting it up. Visual Studio 2010 is installed as well as SQL Server Management Studio 2008 R2. I'm trying to open SQL Server Management Studio to connect to the database but so far am not having much luck. I'm used typing in for a server name something like...
localhost (local) SQLEXPRESS
None of these are working.
So my question is: How can I tell what type of SQL Server installation and configuration I have on this machine, and how can I discover what server name I need to use in order to properly connect to it?
--Addition--------------------------------------------
I looked into the services as directed and found a few instances as indicated. SQLEXPRESS and MSSQLSERVER. I have tried to login with both of those options in these configurations...
SQLEXPRESS MSSQLSERVER computername\SQLEXPRESS computername\MSSQLSERVER .\SQLEXPRESS .\MSSQLSERVER
None of these worked. I also altered the 'Log On As' property of the services from 'Network Service' to 'Local System' and tried them again. Still no success.
Go to Start > Programs > Microsoft SQL Server > Configuration Tools. Locate the running MS SQL Server instance name (circled below in red).
In Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio, in the Object Explorer pane, right click the server and select properties. In the pane, there should be a heading called "Connection" and in that heading a link to a new window called "View connection properties". The value next to "Server name" is the name of your server.
By default, SQL Server Express instances are named sqlexpress, but this value may be different if another name was used when SQL Server Express was installed.
Instead of giving:
./SQLEXPRESS //in the Server Name
I put this:
.\SQLEXPRESS //which solved my problem
You should be able to see it in the Services panel. Look for a servicename like Sql Server (MSSQLSERVER)
. The name in the parentheses is your instance name.
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