I a having problems with SQLExpress 2008 on a Windows 7 x64 Ultimate
computer. Installation goes just fine, my username is an
administrator. I am installting it logged into my username. When asked
I add my username to the list of SQL administrators. I select a
default instance instead of a named instance. After installing I
reboot.

After the reboot I try to open the SQL Server Management Console. It
has "(local)" as the instance to connect to. But I get an error that
says the server cannot be found, I open up the services window and the
service us started.

Any ideas what the problem is or more importantly how to fix it?

Joe Cool schreef op 05-06-2011 00:47:
Select the "Browse for more" option in the servername dropdown, expand
"Database Engine" and there you should find your instance which should
be named <MACHINENAME>\SQLEXPRESS

Even when you select "default instance" at install time, it gets named
<MACHINENAME>\SQLEXPRESS. This is normal behaviour for the installer of
SQL Express.

Best,
Henk