Interested in a full, inexpensive tutorial on installation and use of MSDE 2000/SQL Server 2000 Desktop Edition? Check out my instructional video at TechnicalLead's LearnSQLServer site. The video covers all the material from this article and much more.

MSDE 2000 Installation How-To
- William Rouck, May 28 2003

Introduction

The Microsoft Data Engine (MSDE) is the neat way that Microsoft replaced the Jet Engine. Rather than continue building on Jet, they decided to strip down SQL Server a bit and release it as a redistributable package. It has a few limitations (no GUI, reduced performance when more than five users are connected, etc.), but after you get it set up you've got a powerful database for your applications.

I knew about MSDE since the Visual Studio 6 days, but became interested again after getting my Microsoft Visual Studio.Net 2003 (VS2K3) upgrade. The installation process links you to a web page where you can download the setup program.

Run it at you're all set, right? Nope, I wish it were that easy. I couldn't find any resources that gave me the installation steps and GUI management ideas, so I decided to build one after I got it all worked out. I hope you find this helpful! Please pass on any suggestions or corrections.

Next... Downloading and Installing