After removing SQL Server 2005 (SQL Server 2005 management tools cause the SQL 2008 install to bork) and installing SQL Server 2008 – it all went a little pear shaped………..

SQL Server 2008 worked ok but none of the database libs existed – so projects against file-based SQL 2005 databases could no-longer connect. Not good.  VS 2008 couldn’t connect to SQL 2008 and I couldn’t create a SQL 2008 file based database with Visual Studio.  As a last ditch attempt I attempted to use the OLEDB DB drivers – again without luck.

After a few hours of trying to get to the bottom of the problem and to get things working – I decided to install SQL Server 2005 express again side-by-side with SQL 2008.  The install worked ok – and I could open the SQLExpress instance with the SQL 2008 management tools.  Cool – so back to the projects and try again with the file-based SQL database…

Some progress but I started getting a weird error ”filename.MDF’ cannot be opened because it is version 639. This server supports version 612 and earlier. A downgrade path is not supported.’.

Hummm.  It appears an update has been installed and the database version had changed.

Windows Update didn’t find anything – so it looked like it was gonna be grim…

Finally I attached the database in question to SQL 2008 and then exported, via the management console, the database to the SQL Express 2005 instance installed.  Then it was a simple process of detaching the database from the SQL 2005 instance and copying the DB files to the project.

5 mins later – the application was running again.

Whew!

It’s a little odd that the native SQL Database drivers weren’t compatible with either SQL 2005 databases and that VS 2008 couldn’t create or connect with SQL 2005 databases.  With the amount of advice we’re given about side-by-side assemblies and SOA contracts that both VS 2008 & SQL 2008 found it all such a stuggle.