The final release of SQL Server 2008 R2 was made publically available on April 21, 2010! SQL Server Express continues to ship in 4 different packages. In this release of Express, we simplified the installation wizard. For the November CTP release, I documented...

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE Ward Beattie, one of our developers, has published a nice script that allows you to get sysadmin privilege to your local SQL Server Express instance. Obviously, you need to have administrative rights on your...

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE Visual Studio 2010 Release Candidate is available for download. Congratulations to the Visual Studio team! You can get it here: http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us/products/2010/default.mspx From...

[update 4/28/2010: all comments in this post apply to .NET Framework 4 RTM and to SQL Server 2008 R2 Express] We have just shipped a new package of SQL Server 2008 Express SP1 that supports .NET Framework 4 Beta 2, extending the range of .NET Framework...

With the release of the SQL Server 2008 R2 November CTP , we have simplified the SQL Server Express (all editions and package) installation process.  In this release, we have completed the following: Reduced the number of clicks by 50% when performing...

Microsoft is committed to making the SQL Server the best database in the industry for embedding with your application. For us to achieve this goal, we need your candid feedback on your experience with embedding SQL Server Express.  If you have used...

Microsoft is committed to making the SQL Server Express installation experience the best in industry. For us to achieve this goal, we need your candid feedback on your experience with installing SQL Server Express.  If you have used several different...

I’d like to share the link to a blog post by Brock Weaver, where he explains how to add SQL Server 2008 Express with Tools to the list of prerequisites for ClickOnce packages: http://youarenotexpectedtounderstandthis.blogspot.com/2009/08/vsnet-2008-prerequisite...

The August CTP of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 is now published: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/ee315247.aspx . Give it a try and give us feedback!!!   This release does not have many changes around the Express when compared to SQL...

The installation of .NET 3.5 can fail for several reasons. Sometimes the .NET 3.5 install fails and sometime SQL Server Setup fails to detect .NET is already on the machine.   If you view the %temp%\sqlsetup.log you can determine whether the .NET...

This topic will be expanded in the near future, but currently is a placeholder.

Starting in September, we are considering automatically updating SQL Server 2008 including all Express Edition to Service Pack 1 (SP1). See http://blogs.msdn.com/petersad/archive/2009/07/30/sql-server-2008-service-pack-sp-1-on-microsoft-update-as-a-required...

We recently published a technical article on how to embed and run SQL Server 2008 Express in unattended mode. The article is at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd981032.aspx . We expect to revise this article at a later point in time. To ensure...

There are two options for installing SQL Server 2008 Express. 1. Basic: Choose this option to install SQL Server Express with minimal effort by using the Web Platform Installer and a pre-defined defaults. Visit SQL Server Express download page to perform...

In the next release of SQL Server, called SQL Server 2008 R2 we are working on addressing issues that complicated the installation of SQL Server Express.  As the timeframe to address these issues is tight for this release we won’t be able to address...

On June 23rd, we will publish the Express SQL Server 2005 SP3 updates for Windows 7 through Microsoft Update.  This is just a change in the detection logic to offer to a Windows 7 system. The SQL Server 2005 SP3 packages that have already been released...

I have put together steps for you to build an Express Management Studio with Service Pack 1.  See these steps at http://blogs.msdn.com/petersad/archive/2009/05/29/creating-a-sql-server-2008-management-studio-express-slipstream-drop.aspx

When installing SQL Server 2005 RTM/SP1/SP2 and SQL Server 2008 RTM on Windows 7 RC it presents you with a warning message. The message says that this SQL Server version has a known compatibility issues with Windows 7 RC. This warning is genuine and applies...

The easiest way to upgrade to Service Pack 1 is to search for the update through Microsoft Update. The service pack 1 update will not be NOT be automatically installed to your system. If getting the update from Microsoft Update is not an option you must...

The SQL Server 2008 Express package with Service Pack 1 is now available. The simplest location to install from is here , select “Download and Install” now.  (Currently the other links on this package point to the original media. This will be revised...

I've seen a number of people bringing this message up in the forums recently so I thought I would blog about it rather than type the answer over and over. (I'm lazy that way.) Problem When you run the installer you get the following error after the download...

We are working on the patching model that will be used for SQL Server 2008 Express and we're considering a change that I wanted to get your feedback on. Please take a moment to answer a few questions; feel free to answer through a comment to this post...

The SQL Server Engineering team has released a masive white paper that details upgrading to SQL Server 2008. It's all good information, but if you're reading this blog you're probably interested in chapter 10, which specifically covers SQL Server 2008...

A small but persistent group of developers has been asking for SQL Server Express to be released on media, most commonly from those folks who live in areas without broadband Internet (yes, there are still such areas) for whom downloading an 80 MB package...

Update: The SQL Express 2008 Installation Package (Express Wrapper) is no longer available. Currently the best way to install SQL Server Express is to use Web Platform Installer . FYI: SQL Server MVP Andrea Montanari has posted his own summary of the...