I have been unable to configure my SQL Server 2008 Express to allow remote connections. I followed the instructions from this guide: http://www.linglom.com/2009/03/28/enable-remote-connection-on-sql-server-2008-express/ .
I am still getting the following error:
Cannot connect to 00.00.00.000
Additional information:
A network-related or instance-specific error occurred while establishing a connection to SQL Server. The server was not found or was not accessible. Verify that the instance name is correct and that SQL Server is configured to allow remote connections.
(Provider: Named Pipes Provider, error 40 - Could not open a connection to SQL Server) ( Microsoft SQL Server, Error: 3)
I also configured the firewall as defined in http://blog.sqlauthority.com/2009/05/21/sql-server-fix-error-provider-named-pipes-provider-error-40-could-not-open-a-connection-to-sql-server-microsoft-sql-server-error/ . As a test I even turned off the firewall, but nothing changed, so it is not the issue.
Update under server name, it only says the IP address. Do I need something more?
In the Server name field of Connect to Server, I had myipaddress. I changed it to myipaddress\SQLEXPRESS and it works.
In addition, once this was working without the firewall I applied settings as defined in http://www.sevenforums.com/system-security/58817-remote-access-sql-server-express-2008-windows-7-a.html to make the connection work with the firewall turned on.