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Starting Microsoft SQL Server


The Service and the Server


The MSSQLSERVER Service


After installing Microsoft SQL Server, you can start using it.

Because Microsoft SQL Server works as a service to the operating system, in order to use it, you must make sure its service has started. To check it (on Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, or Windows Server 3008) you can open Control Panel and the Administrative Tools. In the Administrative Tools window, you can open the Services. In the Services window, check the status of the SQL Server (MSSQLSERVER) item:


If the MSSQLSERVER service is stopped, you must start it. To do this, you can right-click it and click Start. If it fails to start, check the account with which you logged in:

If you are using Microsoft Windows XP Professional and you logged in as Administrator but did not provide a password, you should open Control Panel, access User Accounts, open the Administrator account, and create a password for it
If you are using a server (Microsoft Windows Server 2003 or Microsoft Windows Server 2008), make sure you logged in with an account that can start a service
Once the service has started, it should be labeled Started:


Opening Microsoft SQL Server



To launch Microsoft SQL Server, you can click Start -> (All) Programs -> Microsoft SQL Server 2008 -> SQL Server Management Studio

When it starts, it would present a dialog box that expects you to log in.

Practical Learning: Launching Microsoft SQL Server



To launch Microsoft SQL Server, click Start -> (All) Programs -> Microsoft SQL Server 2008 -> SQL Server Management Studio. A splash screen will appear:

On the Connect to Server dialog box, click Cancel
The Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio


Introduction



There are many tools you will use in Microsoft SQL server. One of them is called Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio. To access it, you can click Start -> (All) Programs -> Microsoft SQL Server 2008 -> SQL Server Management Studio. A dialog box would come up but you can click Cancel on it:


The top section of the SQL Server Management Studio displays the classic title bar of a regular window, with an icon on the left, followed by the title of the application, and the system buttons on the right side.

The Main Menu



Under the title bar, the menu bar displays categories of menus that you will use to perform the various necessary operations.

The Standard Toolbar



The Standard toolbar displays under the main menu:



The Standard toolbar is just one of the available ones. Eventually, when you perform an action that would benefit from another toolbar, the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio would display that toolbar. Still, if you want to show any toolbar, you can right-click any menu item on the main menu or any button on a toolbar. A menu would come up:

Connection to a Server


Using Connect to Server



In order to do anything significant in Microsoft SQL Server, you will have to log in to a server. If you start Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio from the Start button, the Connect To Server dialog box would come up. If you had started from the Start button but clicked Cancel, to connect to a server:

On the main menu, click File -> Connect Object Explorer
On the Standard toolbar, you can click the New Query button
On the Object Explorer, you can click the arrow of the Connect button and click one of the options, such as Database Engine...


After using Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio, you can close it. To do this:

Click the icon on the left side of Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and click Close
On the right side of the title bar, click the system Close button
On the main menu, click File -> Exit
Press Alt, F, X



source : http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/default.aspx