It might be worth running netstat on the server to check if SQL Server is listening on a TCP port. If not, check the config. I think the full version of SQL Server defaults to using named pipes only, TCP has to be explicitly enabled. My textbook also says that SQL Server runs under the 'Local System' account, which might not have permission to access the network. The textbook recommends creating a new account with local administrator rights to run the service (this is for the full version of SQL Server, the desktop edition is probably the same). I don't know if this is wise or not, my Windows expertise falls far short of understanding all the different privilege levels. Colin. -----Original Message----- From: John W. Holmes [mailto:holmes072000@xxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: 22 February 2004 15:57 To: php-db@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Connect to MSDE using PHP I've downlownded and installed the Desktop Edition of MSSQL and am trying to connect to it with PHP. Has anyone ever accomplished this? I've uncommented the line in php.ini to load the MSSQL functions and they show up on a phpinfo() page, so that part is good. When I installed MSDE I tried it without a named instance first and just set an SA password. Neither of these worked: mssql_connect('localhost','sa','password') mssql_connect('coconut','sa','password') where "coconut" is the name of my computer. Then I tried installing MSDE again with a named instance and tried mssql_connect('namedinstance\localhost','sa','password') mssql_connect('namedinstance\coconut','sa','password') and those wouldn't work either. The only response I get is "failed to connect to server ..." I'm off to try ODBC. Anyone have any suggestions? -- ---John Holmes... Amazon Wishlist: www.amazon.com/o/registry/3BEXC84AB3A5E/ php|architect: The Magazine for PHP Professionals - www.phparch.com -- PHP Database Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php