Hey everyone, I’m having trouble connecting to a SQL Server instance I just set up. Before this, I had an older SQL version running on my machine and connecting was simple - I just used the server name and it worked perfectly.
Now I’ve installed a fresh SQL instance and I’m trying to access it using the format MYSERVER/Fresh_instance but the connection keeps failing. I’m not sure what I’m missing here.
Has anyone dealt with this before? What’s the proper way to establish a connection to a new SQL Server instance? Any help would be great!
The connection string format is incorrect. You need to use SERVERNAME\INSTANCENAME with double backslashes instead of forward slashes. Try using MYSERVER\Fresh_instance. Additionally, ensure that the SQL Server Browser service is running, as it helps locate named instances on the network. It’s also advisable to enable the TCP/IP protocol in SQL Server Configuration Manager, as it is usually disabled by default. If you are connecting locally, you can also try localhost\Fresh_instance or (local)\Fresh_instance to eliminate potential network issues.
hmm, that’s interesting - are you sure the sql server service is running for that new instance? fresh installs sometimes don’t start automatically. what’s the exact error message you’re getting when it fails? that’d help us figure out what’s going wrong.