Membership Database

Hi all,

First ASP.NET project - please be gentle !

OK. Ready to add personalisation and membership. I have VS2005 Professional, including SQL Server 2005 developer, but I understand that VS2005 defaults to creating a local SQL Express file in the App_Data directory and that suits me just fine for now. Unfortunately I can't get VS to create it for me and the ASP.NET Configuration tool complains it can't connect to the database.

First, some REALLY dumb questions to show how little I really know ...

if the application is using a SQL Express file, does the SQL Server 2005 process need to be started in order to access the local database file (or does it just get opened like an access database)
does the Broswer process need to be started - this is all just running on my local machine
when I finally publish this site on my hosted service I could do with understanding what will need to be done to get THAT database accessed ... maybe cross that bridge later

I can go to the VS command prompt and run aspnet_regsql.exe in wizard mode. Going through the steps on that I could give it my SQL Server 2005 server name (after I start it) but that's not what I'm trying to do. I just want it to create and connect to a local file in the App_Data.

machine.config shows ...

  <connectionStrings>
    <add name="LocalSqlServer" connectionString="data source=.SQLEXPRESS;Integrated Security=SSPI;AttachDBFilename=|DataDirectory|aspnetdb.mdf;User Instance=true" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
    <!-- <add name="LocalSql2005" connectionString="Data Source=MICKSPCSSLMJ;Initial Catalog=aspnetdb;Integrated Security=True"
     providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
     -->
  </connectionStrings>
 

The commented connection string I used to temporarily prove that I could access SQL2005. It's no longer used and I've put the other references back to "LocalSqlServer" as below ... <membership>
<providers>
<add name="AspNetSqlMembershipProvider" type="System.Web.Security.SqlMembershipProvider, System.Web, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a" connectionStringName="LocalSqlServer" enablePasswordRetrieval="false" enablePasswordReset="true" requiresQuestionAndAnswer="true" applicationName="/" requiresUniqueEmail="false" passwordFormat="Hashed" maxInvalidPasswordAttempts="5" minRequiredPasswordLength="7" minRequiredNonalphanumericCharacters="1" passwordAttemptWindow="10" passwordStrengthRegularExpression="" />
</providers>
</membership>
<profile>
<providers>
<add name="AspNetSqlProfileProvider" connectionStringName="LocalSqlServer" applicationName="/" type="System.Web.Profile.SqlProfileProvider, System.Web, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a" />
</providers>
</profile>
<roleManager>
<providers>
<add name="AspNetSqlRoleProvider" connectionStringName="LocalSqlServer"
applicationName="/" type="System.Web.Security.SqlRoleProvider, System.Web, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a" />
<add name="AspNetWindowsTokenRoleProvider" applicationName="/" type="System.Web.Security.WindowsTokenRoleProvider, System.Web, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a" />
</providers>
</roleManager>The profile provider is clearly pointing to "LocalSqlServer" which in turn points to : connectionString="data source=.SQLEXPRESS;Integrated Security=SSPI;AttachDBFilename=|DataDirectory|aspnetdb.mdf;User Instance=true"

What am I missing please ?