Hi All;

My DNN install is only a (pre) development machine at home (Windows 7) with a very small sample data set. It will never be a production system.  I am developing a social networking site for a non-profit organization as a volunteer; the actual production site will be a Windows server installation with full SQL Server 2008.  Most all of my volunteer hours on this project are at home because of the restrictive facilities at the non-profit.  I develop the site content at home, and then take what I've done  and install it on the non-profit's more robust infrastructure. 

With combination of  DNN 6.2.5 (Framework), SQL EXPRESS 2008 (DB), IIS 7.5, and Win 7 (Professional) as the host, I have not been able to create an empty database in SQL Server Express 2008 apriori and have the DNN install wizard find it. All I get are SQL errors, no matter what combinations I try. The only way I have managed to get through the install is to have the mdf file created in the App_Data directory.  It is a good install, and I can log in and develop the site, but everything breaks when I attach the DNN DB to SQL Server Management Studio.   Others have managed to get around the issue, but I am looking for those magical connection strings for the web.config file specifically for this set of components.  That is, if it is in the realm of possibilities.

The link that was given was for Windows Server, DNN 7, and creating the database ahead of time. This did not work for my situation. 

Regards, Rigel

Hi Westa;

WOOO-EE!! THANK YOU!!!! THANK YOU!!!! THANK YOU!!!! THANK YOU!!!!  (not enough!) 
The default site came up and I logged in as host with the previously reset password, added an admin user, and executed a simple SQL. )
All my SQL Server settings were exactly as you described.  I didn't need to change anything except using the "sa" account and its pw in the connection strings. A defined SQL Server account with database owner privileges on the DNN database did not work. I had tried many different settings and combinations in the connection string, and this is what I ended up with
Let me know if I should change anything. (such as Integrated Security....)  I used a UDL file to test the connection before editing web.config..

<connectionStrings>
<add name="SiteSqlServer" connectionString="Data Source=.\SQLExpress;AttachDbFilename=|DataDirectory|MyWebSite.mdf;Database=MyWebSite;User ID=sa;Password=XXXXX" 
providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
  </connectionStrings>
  
<appSettings>
    <!-- Connection String for SQL Server 2005/2008 Express - kept for backwards compatability - legacy modules   -->
    <add key="SiteSqlServer" value="Data Source=.\SQLExpress;AttachDbFilename=|DataDirectory|MyWebSite.mdf;Database=MyWebSite;User ID=sa;Password=XXXXX" />

I had been developing the site on an aged XP laptop with SQL Server 2005, but it was out of power, and I needed to install SQL Service Reporting Services to write the reports (Yet another tool to learn...) I had been using Access to do the reports, connecting via ODBC to the DNN database, but this solution was not acceptable to the IT manager. He wanted SSRS with the reports served from SharePoint on their Intranet. The reports are not for the general community, but for the staff in the organization.

I neededto upgrade to a more current infrastructure anyway, so bought a new core i3 machine with 6 GB memory and Windows 7 (x64) professional, and had installed SQL Server 2008 with SSRS and other tools.  I had tested the configuration with a sample database and its reports. 

Now that I have all the base components operational, my next challenge is to migrate the DNN site from my old development system to this new one...I'll check around for advice on the least painful way to do this. I'm using a number of modules - ActiveForums, Events, etc.  But this was a major step in the right direction!!!

My heartfelt wishes for you and all those you love,
Rigel