I am trying to upgrade a web application that has been running for years with an Access database behind it. I have Visual Studio 2008 and the SQL Server Express that comes with it. I am trying to upsize my Access database to Sql Server using the upsizing wizard in Access 2003. The problem is that, no matter what I do, I keep getting the message "SQL Server does not exist or access denied."
The service is running on my local machine. I have created a tutorial web application in VS2008 using a dowloaded SQL Server database successfully. When the wizard asks for connection information I am using (local) for the name of the server and entering my Windows username and password (though I have tried every other username and password that I can think of that might be relevant). If I try the "Use existing database" option the wizard looks for ODBC data sources and doesn't find any. If I navigate to the SQL Server database that I have used successfully it is not available as an ODBC data source. I have very little experience with ODBC and am clueless about that.
In fact this entire experience is leaving me feeling de-skilled, helpless and frustrated. I cannot find any good source to help me understand SQL Server and how to use it. I would appreciate any information that could steer me in the right direction. I could give up and just use the Access database but would like the advantages of SQL Server if I can just figure out how the heck to use the accursed thing.
LouatMonaco