I can't uninstall SQLEXPRESS

Hi all,

I have a strange problem here. How to uninstall SQLEXPRESS when it does not appear in the "Add/remove program"?

Another problem is that I can't connect to the local server using SQL Server Enterprise manager. This is the error that i got:

"a connection could not be established to (My Computer name)\SQLEXPRESS.
Reason: [SQL-DMO]you must use SQL Server 2005 management tools to connect to this server.
Please verify SQL Server is running and check your SQL Server registration properties (by right-clicking on the DHH-MC\SQLEXPRESS node) and try again. "

I do not want to use SQL 2005 because of some issues. All I need is SQL 2000 to run properly.

Can anybody help me in this? Thanks.

When you say you cannot find SQL Express under the Add/Remove Programs window... are you looking specifically for SQL Express? I ask because for some strange reason it appears there as Microsoft SQL Server 2005. If you see that feel free to remove it and the other SQL components installed along with it.|||

I think it is SQL Server 2005 because i have installed it before.

I have uninstalled everything related to the SQL Server 2005 and even SQL Server 2000. But it is still there. SQL Server 2005 is still appeared at the start program.

And when i installed SQL Server 2000, I can't connect to the local server. This is the error:

a connection could not be established to (My Computer name)\SQLEXPRESS.
Reason: [SQL-DMO]you must use SQL Server 2005 management tools to connect to this server..
Please verify SQL Server is running and check your SQL Server registration properties (by right-clicking on the DHH-MC\SQLEXPRESS node) and try again. "

Any solution?

|||

SQL Server 2005 creates a single entry in the Add/Remove programs dialog that collects all the instances of SQL Server 2005. This acutally makes sense as it gives you a place to easily identify the different instances of SQL Server, as we support installing many.

To remove SQL Express, or any other Edition of SQL Server for that matter, go to Add/Remove Programs, select Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and click Remove. You will be taken to a dialog that lists the various components of SQL Server that are installed, including the Instance Names they are installed under. Simply select the components you wish to remove and proceed thorugh the wizard.

Hopefully this clarifies things for you.

Regards,

Mike Wachal
SQL Express team

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|||Hi. I've got the same problem with unistalling SQL Express with Adavanced Services SP1. I saw it in Add/Remove programs and tried removing it/unistalling it. It DID NOT take me to a dialog with instances installed and options to select which to install or unistall etc.. all that came up was a info box that stated that other SQL Express components depended on that one nad that I should unistall those first. Well I jotted down which and when I tried to uninstall those the same warning/info box came up listing dependent components..so I jotted those down and went around in circles as they were ALL dependent on each other...so, I went ahead and unistalled verything that had MS SQL Server Express/2005 on Add/Remove Programs and it still shows up in my Start menu in the Programs submenu? Also, when I ran the program again to see if an unistall option came up it will only install..so I went along with it to see if an unsiatll option would eventually come up...it didn't..I went far enough along to where it showed me that it STILL had installed instances of SQL Server Epxress? what's with that? anyways, I then cancelled the installation ...man, this almost remindes me of years ago when I first started out doing desktop support and all the problems we had with users when we tried to unistall their AOL from their company machines...I expected better from MS ..I'm dissapointed ...what can I do to get rid of MS SQL Server Express 2005 completely...we were using this machine to possibly build a deployment image for our learning lab ...but if the oprogram is this hideous, we may just have to scrap it..|||

How did you get Express Advanced installed onto your computer?

In a normal install of SQL Express Advanced, clicking the Remove buttion from ARP will open a dialog titled "Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Uninstall" with a first page that offers a "Component Selection" and lists what SQL components are installed. If you did a full install of Express Advanced, you should have two things available to you:

In the 'Select an Instance' box, you should see one Database Engine named SQLEXPRESS