On my development machine I've installed SQL Server Express 2008, but it has the instance name .\SQLEXPRESS. I want it to be the default instance. I'm pretty sure that I selected the "Default Instance" option in the setup, but apparently it didn't work. Is there any way I can change the instance name now?
Added:
It seems that this is a known bug in the installer. It will be fixed when PCU 1 (PubliC Update) comes out, but there's not telling when that's gonna happen. In the mean time there are two workarounds:
- When installing, choose the "Named Instance" option and enter
MSSQLSERVER. - Install a named instance, then install another instance and this time the "Default Instance" option will work.
Still, the question remains: is there any way to rename an instance WITHOUT reinstalling? Because the setup was a slow pain. XD
Best Answer
There is no way to change the instance name without re-installing, sorry.....
Update: OK, seems there are a few ways of doing this - not sure how well these work, though. I have not ever heard of anyone doing this successfully, though :-( The easiest way to do this is re-installing with the correct name. Especially with the SQL Server Express versions, it's really no big deal to reinstall - done in a breeze, and you can of course backup and restore your data - so no loss there, either....
Also, it seems that method is limited to SQL Server 2000 only - when searching for the appropriate topics for SQL Server 2008 (sp_dropserver, sp_addserver), it seems those are used for renaming a server (computer) to a new name - not changing the SQL Server instance name, in my opinion. There's no more mention of renaming an installed SQL Server instance with that method.