Greetings!

I have used DNN since version 1.x and have always been able to solve problems but this time I am stumped so here goes my first post!

I am moving a site from a server I have full admin rights on, over to a hosting site. It is a DNN install that is now running 6.x with a SQLExpress;AttachDbFilename=|DataDirectory|Database.mdf  connection string and it works great. I was told to use Webmatrix to move it and it sounded cool so I tried that and that was a no go but it runs fine on my local Win 7 machine here. I thought I would just be able to copy the files up to the site and away it would go but apparently they don’t support this configuration.

So, I attached the MDF to a local SQL Sever Express 2008 R2 “real” database. I made a new DB and copied everything over in Management Studio and got all green lights. I then changed the connection string here locally to give it a try and it comes up with the install wizard. I know it is not a connection string problem because if I keep going it will read and write to the DB just fine but even though the tables are populated, it thinks it is a new install!! I even tried nuking the DB and running it and it creates a new install running all the scripts just fine. I can change the connection strings to attach the .mdf in the app_data dir and away it goes again just like before.

Thank you so much for anyone willing to help with this one. I have searched high and low but never found this exact problem addressed yet.

Sebastian, thank you so much for your reply since I have been fighting with this for a week.

I see your point and will give that a try. The reason I was trying to move the DB just locally is because my goal is to move it successfully to the new hosting site (which has been unsuccessful!) and I don’t think I have the access up there to attach a file like that to their SQL Server installation. Maybe I am not correct in saying this. So, I figured if I could successfully move the DB locally, I might then have a chance getting it going up on the new server. Clear as mud? :-) Why would DNN think this is a new installation? 

Ok, After I got to looking at the error logs more in WebMatrix (I tried everything looking some hint as to what was going on!) I saw that the root of the problem was that there were syntax errors caused by some bad data written to the event log table. Once I cleaned up the sitelog and eventlog tables the DB size was decreased by 2/3 and away it went with no syntax errors. It looks to me like this should be step one in moving any DNN site. Clean it up first! It still leaves some other question unanswered in my mind but all is well now!

Thanks!