Tuesday, October 22, 2013

SQL Server Configuration Manager (sqlserverManager11.msc) Hidden?

You may have noticed, like I did, that after upgrading-in-place from Windows 8 Enterprise to Windows 8.1 Enterprise, my local installation of SQL 2012 SP1 no longer listed SQL Server Configuration Manager under the "SQL Server 2012" list in the Start applications screen. Configuration Manager isn't in the search or the start menu. This also happens in later versions of Windows it seems.

Even searching for "SQL Server Configuration Manager" in the start menu returned no local results.

Note that in the screenshots to the left of the Apps By Category start menu, there is no familiar SQL Server Configuration Manager icon listed with the SQL 2012 Category. Searching for "Configuration" returns other local configuration programs, such as MDS Configuration Manager and SSRS Configuration Manager, but not SQL Server Configuration Manager.

I found SQL Server Configuration Manager right where it belongs, but it has vanished from the local program listing: "C:\Windows\SysWOW64\SQLServerManager11.msc". A workaround solution is very basic. When you find it in Explorer, right click and "pin to start". Then you will be able to search for it as "sqlserverManager11". Now it will appear in the Desktop category of the Start Menu.

UPDATE: Microsoft Docs now includes this text to remedy this exact problem:
To access SQL Server Configuration Manager Using Windows 8
Because SQL Server Configuration Manager is a snap-in for the Microsoft Management Console program and not a stand-alone program, SQL Server Configuration Manager not does not appear as an application when running Windows 8. To open SQL Server Configuration Manager, in the Search charm, under Apps, type SQLServerManager12.msc for SQL Server 2014 (SQLServerManager11.msc for SQL Server 2012 or SQLServerManager10.msc for SQL Server 2008), and then press Enter.

You can find Configuration Manager versions in these standard locations:

SQL Server 2019C:\Windows\SysWOW64\SQLServerManager15.msc
SQL Server 2017C:\Windows\SysWOW64\SQLServerManager14.msc
SQL Server 2016C:\Windows\SysWOW64\SQLServerManager13.msc
SQL Server 2014C:\Windows\SysWOW64\SQLServerManager12.msc
SQL Server 2012C:\Windows\SysWOW64\SQLServerManager11.msc
SQL Server 2008C:\Windows\SysWOW64\SQLServerManager10.msc

UPDATE: added later versions

Thursday, October 17, 2013

"SQL Server: Bolts to Buzzwords" presentation for the Hammond .NET User Group at Southeastern Louisiana University

One of my favorite groups to speak for (aside from the Baton Rouge SQL Server User Group) is the Hammond .NET User Group at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, LA. A mostly undergraduate crowd of enthusiastic future developers (and perhaps some developers-turned-DBAs, like myself) make for a fun audience that asks great questions.

Here's my slidedeck for an introductory presentation on databases and SQL Server, perfect for a college crowd, most of which hadn't completed a capstone project requiring a database solution. In fact, the first line of the slidedeck details the highly important lesson of how to pronounce "SQL" - as in, "sequel" NOT "ess kew el".

Here's the download link for the PowerPoint slidedeck