Hello,

New installation, succesfully completed yesterday the 'Typical' installation wizard untill end. Last page was greetings on new default portal, with link to free Admin guide (downloaded) and resourcse links. So it was working !

But.. this morning, a refresh on the same page http://localhost/DotNetNukePro/Defaul... which Title is the default "My Website > Home"  produces in Chrome, a:

This webpage has a redirect loop.

Thanks Cathal, it's running .NET 4.0.3 and I haven't seen system.web.extensions.dll or anything approaching this syntax.

It has happened twice, and a complete reboot took care of it , but of course if there was a way to understand the cause..  This is just a local installation for now, no consequence, but utlimately one need to be able to support an organization's production site.
Is there a trace that I can enable for clues?

The context is that I was trying, from within SSMS, to 'attach' to:
 
C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\DotNetNukePro\App_Data\Database.mdf

Basically, the DNN default portal Home.aspx says:
'Oops.. looks like it's not installed, redirect to install_wizard.aspx' 
which says:
'Ok installed already, redirect to /Home.aspx'
and so on, entering loop..

Thanks so much for this precision shot, right on target.

It all starts to make sense now, I thought it could relate but wasn't sure...

Two things:
1) I'd suggest to DNN development team a more robust exception handling: I don't see the core DNN source code at the moment and won't write the change myself, but wherever the redirect to install.aspx is in Home.aspx, PLEASE do not blindly assume an incomplete installation and pass the ball back in the hands of install.aspx, just like a hot-potato! ;) Wrap this redirect instead with a more robust exception handling.

2) I will recommend to the DNN core resources in my other thread on this
http://www.dotnetnuke.com/Resources/Forums/tabid/795/forumid/107/threadid/405086/scope/posts/Default.aspx :
- to change ASAP the current wizard installation screen "Configure Database Connection" Select Database radio-button field, which as this time states "if you are using SQL Server 2005/2008 Express then you should use the File option".
According to general knowledge and wisdom seen in 3 DNN book writers and bloggers and your explanation, this is just NOT the case, i.e. if you expect to see your DotNetNuke database from within SSMS, then this is the last thing you want to do! But until you know it, you don't, and I've clicked like probably many the 'Express' radio-button, having the 'Express' SQL Server 2008 R2 installed, and comforted by the wizard statement. It should be explicit in this wizard screen, that it's instead NOT the right choice!

We're in 2011, and I see in Mitchel's 2008 blog http://www.mitchelsellers.com/blogs/articletype/articleview/articleid/271.aspx
that it's been mentioned already as "a very common stumbling block as individuals will know that the database exists, however, SSMS will not show the database at all, until it has ben successfully attached." ...

And people continue to stumble.. and most likely some let the WCMS comparing communities know of their experience.. I think it needs attention quick. Installers like us with an IT background but newer to SQL Server and .NET, go 'Express' for local sand-box installations but not realizing they really click on this 'dynamically attached" database pitfall and won't see a DotNetNuke database from within what their 'duly' installed SSMS.

Thanks again Cathal!