I am writing this post to save your precious time if you happen to be looking for the Management Studio of SQL Server 2008 Express Edition.
Recently I upgraded my 2005 express edition of C# to 2008. As part of the installation they include the 2008 version of SQL Server Express. I thought since the installation is upgrading my current 2005 version to the 2008 versions it will include everything I already have installed. Unfortunately, it turned out I was assuming too much from an installation.
C# 2005 and SQL Server 2005 Express editions were both upgraded to the 2008 version but the Management Studio was not. Surprisingly, or not, the 2005 management studio could not connect to the new 2008 installation. So I uninstalled it and went looking for the management studio version 2008.
So I fired google up and looked for SQL Server 2008 Management Studio Express. The first match was the following microsoft link: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms365247.aspx
All well and good. I was feeling confident I had found what I needed. I scanned for the download link and found it under the section header, SSMSE Download Site. A quick click on the link takes you to the following page http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=C243A5AE-4BD1-4E3D-94B8-5A0F62BF7796&DisplayLang=en.
There is only one big problem with that page though. It is the download page for the 2005 version of management studio and 2008 is nowhere to be found.
It was then that I went to look back at the google search page and found out that all the links past position one are queries on forums as to where is the 2008 version of the management studio.
After reading through quite a few of them and myriad setup attempts, I finally found the solution and I am outlining it here to save your time and sanity.
The solution is to go to the following page, http://www.microsoft.com/express/sql/download/, and download the SQL Server 2008 Express with Tools.
If you already installed SQL Server 2008 Express Edition without tools or as part of the Visual Studio Express edition install or upgrade process, uninstall it first before doing anything else, since adding features like the management studio to an existing installation did not work either.
Then run the installation of SQL Server 2008 Express with Tools. From the left side bar click the Installation entry and from the right pane click New SQL Server stand-alone installation or add features to an existing installation. The setup will check for some pre-requisites and then install setup support files. Next it will check some setup support rules and you need to click Next to enter the Installation Type section. Select Perform a new installation of SQL Server 2008 and click Next until you reach the Feature Selection page. In the right pane, under Instance Features select Database Engine Services and under Shared Features make sure to select Management Tools - Basic. Then continue by clicking Next and following the rest of the installation process.
You should now have a brand new installation of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express Edition complete with the Management Studio.
What is really annoying is the fact that the first Microsoft page I visited, i.e. the one Google returned in the first position contained a note to highlight the fact that the download link is incorrect and you should go to a new address. Problem is, the download link is the first thing on the page, and the corrective comment is well below the fold, and you need to scroll two full pages to view it.
So I have two comments to make regarding this. The link could have been fixed immediately instead of posting a comment to highlight the error. It definetely took more time to write the comment than to fix a single URL. Not to mention how quicker and painless the whole process would have been for me and countless other users doing this upgrade process.
Finally, if red tape rules the day at Microsoft, and they need to wait for the official “Documentation Refresh” before changing a document, this crucial note should have been written next to the download link itself. There it will surely draw attention and save the day.
Let me know what you think