Reinstalling MSDE/SQL Express

Introduction

MSDE (Microsoft Data Engine) is the database system which stores all the information contained in Smart. Think of it as a program. When Smart wants to read information from disk, or write it to disk, it asks MSDE to carry out the work. This enables MSDE to provide powerful and robust database management.

MSDE is a free version of Microsoft SQL Server which does not include a full set of tools and is suitable for a maximum of 10 users. In 2005, MSDE was renamed SQL Express.

Smart versions prior to Smart 4.0 can run on any version of MSDE, SQL Express, or Microsoft SQL Server. Versions of Smart after 4.0 require MSDE 2000, SQL Server 2000, SQL Express, or a later version of SQL Server.

If you are running Smart on more than one PC, only one PC (the "server") needs to have MSDE installed.

Your MSDE installation may fail if your server has been reconfigured incorrectly. Iin this case, you may need to reinstall MSDE.

This document covers the following topics

Trying to restart MSDE
Saving your database before reinstallation
Deinstalling your existing MSDE
Reinstalling MSDE
Restarting MSDE
Restoring your database

Before starting, be sure you have a copy of MSDE on a CD or have downloaded one from the internet.

For assistance, contact Skorpion support (02 9280 0728, after hours 0425 294 663).

Trying to restart MSDE

If MSDE is running normally, a small icon like the one at left, showing a green arrow, should be visible in your system tray (usually at the lower right corner of your computer screen). If your icon looks like this, you don't need to reinstall MSDE.

If the icon shows a red dot instead of a green arrow, right click on it, and choose MSSQL Server - Start. If you can't see the words MSSQL Server, click on Current Service and select SQL Server, then try the previous step again.

If you are successful, the green arrow will appear after a few seconds. If it does not appear after two or three attempts, continue with reinstalling MSDE. If it appears, you can forget the rest of this document!

Obtaining MSDE

MSDE is a free download from the Microsoft MSDE site, http://www.microsoft.com/sql/msde/default.mspx . If this link does not work, use Google or a similar search engine to search on 'MSDE' or 'SQL Express'. The download is in excess of 30Mb, so you will require a broadband connection for the download. If you do not have one, please contact Microsoft or Skorpion to obtain the installation on CD.

Saving your database before reinstallation

Your database contains all your hard work. Should it become lost or damaged you may suffer a business loss, or at the very least have to spend days reentering information.

If you have a normal backup procedure, carry it out now as well as doing the following steps.

Start Windows Explorer (right click on the Windows Start button and click Explorer) and find your database. It is normally in a folder called C:\MSSQL7\DATA. like this:

Find all files in this directory starting with Smart, for example Smart_data.mdf, Smart_Log.ldf, and copy them to another location which is not below the MSSQL7 directory. If possible, copy them to another PC, or to a CD or disk drive (they will be too large to fit on a floppy disk). There should be at least 2 such files, one ending in .mdf and one ending in .ldf

Uninstalling MSDE

On your Windows Start menu, select Programs and then MSDE and Uninstall MSDE. Uninstalling may take a couple of minutes. When it is complete, the menu item will have disappeared.

If you do not have such a menu item, you may not have MSDE installed, Instead, you may have Microsoft SQL Server 7 or Microsoft SQL 2000 installed. These are similar to MSDE but with additional features. Instead of proceeding with these instructions, find your copy of that program and resinstall it.

Reinstalling MSDE

If you are installing MSDE 2000, SQL Express, or a later version of MSDE, go to the next section.

Open a DOS command prompt. If you do not have a menu shortcut, click Start, Run, type the word Command in the box, and click OK. A DOS command window with a black background should appear.

Change to the drive or folder where the MSDE installation program is.

If it's on a CD, type the CD drive letter and a colon(:) and press Enter, e.g.

D: <enter> (don't type <enter>, just press the Enter key)

If you saved it to a folder, e.g. Temp, change to the folder using the cd command, e.g.

cd c:\temp <enter> (don't type <enter>, just press the Enter key)

To chpeck that you are in the right place, type dir and press the Enter key. You should see a listing like this:

Now type the following command at the command prompt,. You may need to change the section in quotes (" "), see below.

If you are using a CD, the command will look like this.

If you downloaded and saved to the Temp folder, the command will look like this:

If you are using a different drive letter or folder name, change the text between quotes so that it shows the correct path.

When this is correct, press the Enter key.

The installation will commence and may take around 15 minutes to complete. During this time there will be little or no visible evidence of progress, except for occasional flashing of your PC's hard disk light. Time for a slow cup of coffee!

When installation is complete, click on the Windows Start menu and then Programs. You should see a selection called MSDE If not, the installation has failed.

If installation was successful, restart the PC. If not, contact Skorpion support as above.

Installing or reinstalling MSDE 2000 or SQL Express

1. Run the program which you downloaded or obtained on CD. This will unpack files into a temporary directory. When prompted for a directory name, choose one which you can easily find (you can delete the directory after installation.

2. Find this directory with Windows Explorer. Open the file called ReadmeMSDE2000A.htm or a similar name, which will contain installation instructions. In particular, be sure to set this parameter as follows:

DISABLENETWORKPROTOCOLS=0

or other workstations will not be able to connect to your server!

We suggest you set the Instance name to 'Smart' to make setup easier.

Restarting MSDE

When your PC has restarted, you should be able to see the MSDE icon in the system tray at lower right of your PC screen. If is not already showing a green arrow, follow the instructions above to start MSDE. If you are unable to do so, please contact Smart support.

Restoring your database

Check to see whether the Smart database files described above are still in the \MSSQL7\DATA folder. If not, copy them back to that folder.

Use Windows Notepad to view the file Attach.sql which is in the same drive or folder as the MSDE installation program.

If necessary, edit the file so that the filenames are the same as the ones in your database directory.

@filename1='C:\MSSQL7\DATA\Smart_Data.mdf',@filename2 = 'C:\MSSQL7\DATA\Smart_Log.ldf'

ignore any Smart database files with the word demo in them
there must be two files with very similar names, one ending in .mdf and one ending in .ldf
if the Attach.sql file requires editing and is on your CD, you must copy it and the Attach.bat file to your hard disk so that you can save the changes.

After editing Attach.sql (if necessary), find the file Attach.bat in the same folder (or on the same CD) and run it, using Windows Explorer.

Restarting Smart

You should now be able to restart Smart as normal. If not, please contact Skorpion support as above.

A copy of this document appears on your MSDE CD.