SQL Server Express 2008 Install Side-by-side w/ SQL 2005 Express Fails

Question

When I try to install a new instance of SQL Server 2008 Express on a development machine with SQL 2005 Express already up and running, the install validation fails because the "SQL 2005 Express tools" are installed and I'm told to remove them.

What exactly does that mean?

After reading this article:

http://www.asql.biz/Articoli/SQLX08/Art1_5.aspx

I uninstalled the 2005 version of the SQL Management Studio but received the same error from the 2008 installer during my follow-up attempt.

Updates

1) Uninstalled the SQL 2005 Management Studio only. Received the same error from the 2008 install.

2) Removed all SQL 2005 common components. Received the same error from the 2008 install.

3) Installed the shared components from the SQL 2008 installation program. Received the same error from the 2008 install when trying to install the new SQL 2008 instance.

4) Uninstalled SQL 2008 components, rebooted, re-installed SQL 2005 Management Studio from installation media, rebooted, un-installed SQL 2005 Workstation Components from Control Panel, re-booted.

Installation of SQL 2008 is now proceeding as it should.

Seems likely that if I'd re-booted after update 2 above things would have gone more smoothly. :-(

Answer 1

Although you should have no problem running a 2005 instance of the database engine beside a 2008 instance, The tools are installed into a shared directory, so you can't have two versions of the tools installed. Fortunately, the 2008 tools are backwards-compatible. As we speak, I'm using SSMS 2008 and Profiler 2008 to manage my 2005 Express instances. Works great.

Before installing the 2008 tools, you need to remove any and all "shared" components from 2005. Try going to your Add/Remove programs control panel, find Microsoft SQL Server 2005, and click "Change." Then choose "Workstation Components" and remove everything there (this will not remove your database engine).

I believe the 2008 installer also has an option to upgrade shared components only. You might try that. Good luck!

Answer 2

Good question, and valueable answer. I did not known the main idea was to run 2005 and 2008 server stuff local side by side and use the 2008 tools to manage it all. Thanx!!!

Answer 3

The problem is that SQL 2008 MS has a bug where connecting to a remote server (say like a service provider collocation) it will always try to open the fist db in the list, and since the possibilities of been ur db the first on the list are really low, it will throw and error and fail to display the list of dbs... which using sql 2005 management studio it just works.

Wished I could use SQL 2008 MS, but looks like as far I connect to remote SQL 2005, SQL 2008 is out of the question on my dev machine :(

Answer 4

Just Remove the the Workstation Components from Add/Remove Programs - SQL Server 2005. Removing Workstation Components, SQL Server 2008 installation goes well.

Answer 5

Hello,

This seems to be relevant to this thread.

Is it possible to run SQL Express 2008 side by side with SQL Express 2005? Alternately, if SQL Express 2005 is installed, can it be updated to SQL Express 2008?

In the system services dialog, SQL Express only appears once after SQL 2008 is installed. However, that service appears to be from SQL 2005 rather than 2008.

SQL Express 2005 has been installed on my laptop and SQL 2008 standard edition was subsequently installed. The installation configuration screens showed that SQL Express would be included in the new named instance for SQL 2008. It is possible to bring up SQL Express using SMC 2008. SMC 2008 shows version 9.0.4035 in the object explorer - I am expecting it to be a version 10.0.xxxx. I was also expecting to see a named instance of SQL Express 2008 in the system services dialog - obviously a bad assumption. After the sql 2008 installation, attempting to attach a database in sql express that has been developed on another system with SQL2008 fails with a message that says that db is a version 655 and this instance of SQL Express only supports version 612 and earlier.

It appears that the SQL 2008 standard edition does not update SQL Express. The same thing happens if the install is done from SQLEXPRWT_x86_ENU.exe which is on the SQL 2008 Express download page.

Does anyone have a solution to this problem? SQL 2005 has to be available side by side with SQL 2008 on this machine.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

btbjim

Answer 6

@btbjim, you download SQL Express v 655 here:

SQL2008 Express download

Answer 7

I had to unistall the Workstation Components and SSMS Tools Pack (SSMS Tools Pack is an add-in for Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) including SSMS Express.) Installation of SQL 2008 is now proceeding as it should.

Answer 8

I just installed Visual Studio LightSwitch Beta. Apparently part of the installation is SQL Server 2008. Well, that's OK. Except now I can no longer connect to my local Database Engine in SQL Server 2005's Management Studio. The server name is still in the dropdown. But when I try to connect, it says that the server was not found or is not accessible. I did a '< browse for more...>' but it does not show-up.

I don't care about LightSwitch. I will be glad to delete whatever I have to in order to get back to where I started.

Please don't tell me I have to delete everything and reinstall SQL Server 2005! But how do I get back access to my local server?

Answer 9

Simply remove the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express 2005 from control panel