I have installed SQL Server 2008 Developer on Windows 7 (64 bit). In SQL Management Studio I cannot register the default instance MSSQLSERVER. It cannot find it although the service is running. I get the message:
Cannot connect to PHOENIX\MSSQLSERVER.
A network-related or instance-specific error occurred while
establishing a connection to SQL Server. The server was not found or
was not accessible. Verify that the instance name is correct and that
SQL Server is configured to allow remote connections. (provider: SQL
Network Interfaces, error: 25 – Connection string is not valid)
(Microsoft SQL Server, Error: 87)
However SQL Server Management Studio does show the SQL Server 2005 Express instance (that was installed with VS 2008 Pro) which appeared as already registered. I am using Windows Authentication as I installed it in mixed mode.
How do I connect to an MSSQLSERVER instance using SQL Server Management Studio?
Best Answer
I always connected as:
[machine_name]/[instance_name]and it wasn't able to connect. What works is connecting simply as:
[machine_name]This is probably due to the fact that I am running a DEFAULT instance.