The following are the system requirements of SQL Server 2005 Express Edition.

SQL Server 2005 Express Edition is the free, easy-to-use, lightweight version of SQL Server 2005.  SQL Server Express is a powerful and reliable data management product that delivers rich features, data protection, and performance for embedded application clients, light Web applications, and local data stores.  SQL Server Express, which can be downloaded from the following link, is free to download, free to redistribute, and easy for new developers to use immediately.

If you try to install SQL Server 2005 Express Edition without installing Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 first, you will encounter the following error:

The Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0 is not installed.  Please install before running setup.

You can download the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 from the following links:

• Microsoft .NET Framework Version 2.0 Redistributable Package (x86) - 32-bit Platforms
• Microsoft .NET Framework Version 2.0 Redistributable Package (x64) - 64-bit Platforms

The Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 redistributable package installs the .NET Framework runtime and associated files required to run applications developed to target the .NET Framework version 2.0.  The system requirements for the 32-bit version of the Microsoft .NET Framework version 2.0 are as follows:

Important: If you have installed previous pre-release versions of the .NET Framework v2.0, such as Beta 1, Beta 2 or Community Technical Preview (CTP) builds, then you must uninstall these versions via Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel before installing this final release version.

The Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 (x64) redistributable package installs the .NET Framework runtime and associated files required to run 64-bit applications developed to target the .NET Framework version 2.0.  The system requirements for the 64-bit version of the Microsoft .NET Framework version 2.0 are as follows:

Important: If you have installed previous pre-release versions of the .NET Framework v2.0, such as Beta 1, Beta 2 or Community Technical Preview (CTP) builds, then you must uninstall these versions via Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel before installing this final release version.

There is a Books Online help file specific for the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (SQL Server Express) and it can be downloaded from the following link:

The Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (SQL Server Express) Books Online is a set of documentation that helps you understand SQL Server Express.

Books Online is the primary documentation for SQL Server 2005 and can be downloaded from the following link:

SQL Server 2005 Books Online covers the concepts and procedures required to use SQL Server 2005 effectively.  Books Online also includes reference material covering the language and programming interfaces for storing, retrieving, reporting and modifying data using SQL Server 2005.

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (SQL Server Express) is a free, redistributabl version of SQL Server 2005 that you can download.  The SQL Server Express download provides users with the right to install and use SQL Server Express with your applications or development projects.  However, for you to be able to redistribute SQL Server Express, you must register for the right to redistribute SQL Server with your applications.  You can register from the following link:

The SQL Server 2005 Express Edition redistribution license agreement grants you the right to redistribute SQL Server Express with your software application.  When registering for redistribution rights for SQL Server 2005 Express Edition Redistribution, which uses Microsoft .NET Passport for secure authentication and registration, you will be asked to provide information that will become part of your secure profile.

Yes, you can use SQL Server 2000 Query Analyzer to connect to a database in SQL Server 2005 Express Edition.  Since SQL Server 2005 Express Edition is installed as a named instance, you simply use the name of the SQL Server 2005 instance when connecting to it from SQL Server 2000 Query Analyzer.  By default the name of the instance of SQL Server 2005 Express Edition is SQLExpress.  To connect to it from SQL Server 2000 Query Analyzer, simply include the name of the instance after the server name.

To connect to SQL Server 2005 Express Edition installed locally, you can use one of the following as the SQL Server name when asked by Query Analyzer:

• .\SQLExpress
• (local)\SQLExpress
• <Server Name>\SQLExpress

You cannot connect from SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Manager to a database in SQL Server 2005 Express Edition.  If you try to register a SQL Server 2005 Express Edition database in SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Manager, you will get the following error message:

[SQL-DMO]You must use SQL Server 2005 management tools to connect to this server.

You can use Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express to manage the databases in SQL Server 2005 Express Edition.  Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express (SSMSE) provides a graphical management tool for SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (SQL Server Express) instances.  The current release of SQL Server Management Studio Express (Community Technology Preview November 2005) is not supported by Customer Service and Support.