Hello Everybody,

Today I am going to write about an error which I encountered when I was working on the project.

So the scenario is, I started SQL server management studio to do some changes in database. And on the Connect to Object Explorer window, I clicked Connect but I got the following error. See figure .1 Similarly you can get this error from your window form application.

Figure .1 SQL Server – Cannot connect to server

So I started searching on Google about this error.

Causes of this error:

1. Can be because of Network issue.
2. Can be because of SQL server configuration issue.
3. Can be because of Firewall issue.
4. Can be because of Authentication and log on issue.
5. Can be because of Stopped SQL Server(SQLEXPRESS) service.

In my case it was because of the last option that is SQLEXPRESS service was stopped and was not running.

Resolution:

1. In Windows cortana search, look for Services and open.
   

   Figure 2. Windows – Services Desktop App

2. In this list of services search for SQL Server (SQLEXPRESS).
   

   Figure 3. Windows  Services – SQL Server (SQLEXPRESS) service stopped

3. Select the service and right click on it. Click start.
   

   Figure 4. Windows Services  – Starting SQL Server (SQLEXPRESS) services

Now start SQL server management studio and connect, you won’t get the error.

References:

http://support.sysonline.com/support/solutions/articles/4000016491-errmsg-a-network-related-or-instance-specific-error-occurred-while-establishing-a-connection-to-sql

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/18060667/why-am-i-getting-cannot-connect-to-server-a-network-related-or-instance-speci

Thanks for reading 🙂

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