VB Forum / Database Access / September 2003

The connection string needs to address the instance of the MSDE server that
you installed. You don't need to know the path to the database file as this
detail is handled by the server. If MSDE is the only SQL Server installed,
you can use "." or "(local)" as the server\instance name.

A typical MSDE connection operation looks like this:

Dim cn As ADODB.Connection
Dim cmd As ADODB.Command
Dim rs As ADODB.Recordset

Private Sub Form_Load()
Set cn = New ADODB.Connection
cn.Open "provider=sqloledb;data source=betav9\myMSDEInstance;initial
catalog=biblio;integrated security=sspi"

Another approach is to use a LoginID and Password registered with the MSDE
engine.
In this case I'm using "mixed mode" security which is not enabled by default
with MSDE.

cn.Open "provider=sqloledb;data source=betav9\myMSDEInstance;initial
catalog=biblio", "admin", "pw"

I would search the archives (use Google) for the subtle aspects of enabling
mixed mode security if that's what you need. The
microsoft.public.sqlserver.msde newsgroup has more information as well.

I also suggest picking up one of the books on the subject. Mine discusses
both ADO classic and ADO.NET. See my web site for details.

hth

Hi Matt,

MSDE is not an Access-type of the database. It does not require any path.
MSDE is just a light version of SQL Server and uses exact same connection
string as SQL Server does. Next link has good examples of connection strings

http://www.able-consulting.com/MDAC/ADO/Connection/OLEDB_Providers.htm#OLEDBProv
iderForSQLServer