INF: SQL Server 6.5, SQL Server 7.0, and MSDE 1.0 Support on Windows Server 2003 (810391)

SUMMARY

SQL Server 6.5, SQL Server 7.0, and Microsoft Data Engine 1.0 (MSDE) are not supported on the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 family. If you are using SQL Server 6.5, SQL Server 7.0, or MSDE 1.0, and you want to upgrade your operating system to Windows Server 2003, consider upgrading to SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3) or later. Microsoft only supports SP3 or later versions of SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server Desktop Engine (also known as MSDE 2000) on the Windows Server 2003 family.

If you try to install SQL Server 7.0 or earlier on a computer running Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2003 Advanced Server, you receive the following error message:

SQL Server 7.0 is incompatible with this version of Windows. For more information, contact Microsoft.

Contact Information: Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com Telephone: (425) 635-7172 (U.S.) or (905) 568-3503 (Canada)

MORE INFORMATION

Guidance for Customers

If you want to upgrade to Windows Server 2003, and you are running SQL Server 6.5 or SQL Server 7.0 on Microsoft Windows NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, or Microsoft Windows 2000, follow these steps:

Evaluate and test your application on SQL Server 2000 and Windows Server 2003.
Upgrade to SQL Server 2000 SP3 or later.
Upgrade to Windows Server 2003.

If you want to upgrade to Windows Server 2003, and you are running MSDE 1.0 on Windows NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, or Windows 2000, follow these steps:

Contact the vendor of the application that is included with MSDE 1.0.
Work with the application vendor to upgrade the application to use MSDE 2000 SP3 or later.
Upgrade to Windows Server 2003.

Guidance for Vendors

If you are the vendor of an application that uses MSDE 1.0 on Windows NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, or Windows 2000, follow these steps:

Evaluate and test your application on MSDE 2000 SP3 or later and Windows Server 2003.
Provide MSDE 2000 SP3 or later to your customers so that they can upgrade.
Provide your users with an update of your application for use with MSDE 2000 SP3 or later and Windows Server 2003.

If you are the vendor of an application that uses SQL Server 7.0 on Windows NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, or Windows 2000, follow these steps:

Evaluate and test your application on SQL Server 2000 SP3 or later and Windows Server 2003.
Tell your customers to upgrade to SQL Server 2000 SP3 or later.
Provide your users with an update of your application that your customers can use with SQL Server 2000 SP3 or later and Windows Server 2003.

Obtain MSDE 2000 SP3 or later

Contact the vendor of your applications that use MSDE 1.0 to update those applications to use MSDE 2000 SP3. If you are a vendor of applications that use MSDE 1.0, MSDE 2000 SP3 or later is included with the following developer tools:

MSDN Universal, Enterprise, and Professional subscriptions
Microsoft Office XP Developer Edition
SQL Server 2000 Developer, Standard, and Enterprise Editions
Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002 Architect, Developer, and Professional Editions
Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2002 Standard Edition
Microsoft Visual FoxPro

During the development of Windows Server 2003, several key investments were made to vastly improve overall quality, security, and reliability from previous versions of Windows Server. Many of these investments and decisions are a direct result of the Trustworthy Computing initiative and were made to directly benefit customers. In our ongoing efforts to make the operating system more reliable and secure, Windows Server 2003 behaves differently in some ways than Windows 2000 Server. As a result, certain applications that were supported on Windows 2000 no longer work as expected. For additional information, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/sql