Installing SQL Server 2005 Express as Part of My Application

I have found a lot of info on MS site regarding installing SQL Server 2005 Express as part of an application. I have found these articles to be extremely inaccurate or at best incomplete.

1. The documentation says all I need is the setup.exe from SQLEXP but this is not true.

2. When I do launch setup.exe during my app's install, it fails because setup.exe trys to run the support.msi. Of course this causes failure because my install is also an msi.

So, does anyone know how to install SQLEXPRESS as part of my app's install?

Thanks.

Hi Shawn,

I think you might be misreading the documentation you've found, Setup.exe is simply a bootstrapper that launches other SQL component installations. You have to deploy the entire SQL Express package, not just the setup.exe file.

You should deploy either SQLEXPR.EXE or SQLEXPR_ADV.EXE with your application, depending on which flavor of SQL Express you want to install. You should call these files by chaining them together. Most installer development tools allow you to specify additional installer packages to call at the end of your application installation. VS 2005 includes the ability to specify SQL Express as a prerequisite, which will automatically include SQLEXPR.EXE in your deployment package and create a custom bootstrapper that will install SQL Express and then your custom application. I know that VS Pro includes the installer projects, I'm not sure about VS Std.

You should also explore ClickOnce Deployment, this has the same ability to deploy SQL Express as a prerequisite and is supported in all Editions of VS, including the Express Editions.

Regards,

Mike Wachal
SQL Express team

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Integer identity value handling in export / import

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Integer identity value handling in export / import

Hi,

I have a question regarding export / import when you have tables with autonumber (identity) columns as primary surrogate keys. Does export / import retiain the values of these columns so that referential integriy is not broken?

CharlesYes!
Depending on how you import the data, make sure you choose the correct option that you wish to explicitely insert your "own values" into an IDENTITY column.
You might want to check BOL for SET IDENTITY_INSERT or BULK INSERT...KEEPIDENTITY or BCP -E. There is also some equivalent when you use DTS, but since I don't use DTS, I don't know what option to check there.
--
Frank Kalis
Microsoft SQL Server MVP
http://www.insidesql.de
Ich unterstütze PASS Deutschland e.V. (http://www.sqlpass.de)
|||

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I have the same issue. While exporting/importing data (from SQL 2005 to SQL 2005) IDENTITY column values get altered..this way my referencial integrity gets broken that is not good at all....I am familier that using COPY WIZARD & Backup/Restore this can be avoided but I want to know ONLY for DTS import/export wizard....Will you please help me....it's very very very urgent to me.

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Installing SQL Server 2005

Hello.
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receive the warning regarding admin user rights. Since I can't get past
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"Zig" wrote:

> Hello.
> I have a DC with a member server. I attempted installation and repeatedly
> receive the warning regarding admin user rights. Since I can't get past
> this, I can't install. I tried everything under the sun: create a new
> admin, use current admin, log onto the member server locally, sign onto th
e
> DC. Nothing works.
> How can I do an installation? My only other thought was to begin the
> install on the DC and point it to the C: drive of the member server.
> Any thoughts.

Installing SQL Server 2005

Hello.
I have a DC with a member server. I attempted installation and repeatedly
receive the warning regarding admin user rights. Since I can't get past
this, I can't install. I tried everything under the sun: create a new
admin, use current admin, log onto the member server locally, sign onto the
DC. Nothing works.
How can I do an installation? My only other thought was to begin the
install on the DC and point it to the C: drive of the member server.
Any thoughts.
Hi Zig
Do you have any policy's running on the member server, have a look if the
user your trying to install with have the necessary permissions in the local
system policys.
Regards
Charl
http://www.sqlserver.co.za
"Zig" wrote:

> Hello.
> I have a DC with a member server. I attempted installation and repeatedly
> receive the warning regarding admin user rights. Since I can't get past
> this, I can't install. I tried everything under the sun: create a new
> admin, use current admin, log onto the member server locally, sign onto the
> DC. Nothing works.
> How can I do an installation? My only other thought was to begin the
> install on the DC and point it to the C: drive of the member server.
> Any thoughts.

Installing SQL Server 2005

Hello.
I have a DC with a member server. I attempted installation and repeatedly
receive the warning regarding admin user rights. Since I can't get past
this, I can't install. I tried everything under the sun: create a new
admin, use current admin, log onto the member server locally, sign onto the
DC. Nothing works.
How can I do an installation? My only other thought was to begin the
install on the DC and point it to the C: drive of the member server.
Any thoughts.Hi Zig
Do you have any policy's running on the member server, have a look if the
user your trying to install with have the necessary permissions in the local
system policys.
Regards
Charl
--
http://www.sqlserver.co.za
"Zig" wrote:
> Hello.
> I have a DC with a member server. I attempted installation and repeatedly
> receive the warning regarding admin user rights. Since I can't get past
> this, I can't install. I tried everything under the sun: create a new
> admin, use current admin, log onto the member server locally, sign onto the
> DC. Nothing works.
> How can I do an installation? My only other thought was to begin the
> install on the DC and point it to the C: drive of the member server.
> Any thoughts.