How to use SQL Express

[Darrel]

I'm really confused with the whole SQL Express and Web Configuration wizard
options in VS.2005.

On ScottGU's blog:

http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2005/08/25/423703.aspx

"Out of the box, most of the ASP.NET 2.0 application services are configured
to use the built-in SQL Express provider. This provider will automatically
create and provision a new database for you the first time you use one of
these application services, and provides a pretty easy way to get started
without a lot of setup hassles"

This doesn't seem to work for me.

If I create a new web site, and then launch the Web Configuration Wizard, I
just get connection errors. Telling me to run the command line aspnet_regsql
to set up the DB. Do I need to do that for SQL Express? I thought that was
just to set up a regular SQL DB.

Is the wizard supposed to create the DB for me?

If not, and I create my own DB in the app_data folder, do I need to put my
own connection string in? Or should the wizard do that?

I'm confused as to how much VS should be doing this for me vs. how much I
should just be setting up for myself.

-Darrel

 

[Andrew Faust]

It should work. I just tried it out on a new web project and it let me
create users without a single change to anything. My guess would be that
you have something wrong with your install. I would reinstall Visual Studio
and make sure you have all the database items selected and see if that
fixes it for you.