Is Microsoft® SQL Server® 2014 Express SP3 supported on Windows 11 and can it exist with newer versions like 2019 Express?

Question

There is no existing MS documentation provided that states 2014 Express is supported on Windows 11, the EOL states until 2024 but not on what OS. The download for it also only states Windows 10 and lower supported. The install also requires working with either .NET 3.5 SP1 or .NET 4 which is no longer supported(https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=57473)!

Also, when 2014 Express is installed it no longer works if you also install any newer versions like 2019 Express as my searches showed various issues where they are incompatible and been unable to obtain any support to fix so that both versions work and coexist. Meaning old apps which worked with 2014 express no longer function as a result of MSSQLLocalDB being updated to latest version of 2019 express (i.e., 15).

Therefore, is 2014 Express SP3 supported on Windows 11? Yes or No? Even SQL Server versions which it is coupled with state not supported for Windows 11 https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/general/use-sql-server-in-windows

If it is supported on Win11, then how can both 2014 Express SP3 work with 2019 Express if both use same default of MSSQLLocalDB but version is different? Prior apps which use 2014 express no longer work when upgraded to 2019 express? Even ran across one case where Revit even informs users to uninstall newer versions and reinstall old to enable their application to work. https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/revit/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Some-files-fail-to-open-while-others-can-be-opened-in-Revit-2021.html

Any help in tricking or enabling 2014 to work with 2019 without requiring source code updates for old apps would be appreciated if supported on Win11. (i.e., maybe change shortcut to on start of any app somehow create script to delete prior MSSQLLocalDB version and recreate with whatever version required for app based on version it was expecting to exist before starting app? Obviously helps in very limited manner as then you couldn't run both apps at same time)

Answer 1

No, SQL 2014 is not supported on Windows 11. SQL 2014 is in extended support, which means that Microsoft provides security fixes, but not feature enhancements like support for new operating systems.

It still perfectly possible to install SQL 2014 on Windows 11 - I have instances for all versions from SQL 2008 and up running on my Windows 11 machine.

Beware, though, that there is a known issue with Windows reporting disk sector sizes for some disks that SQL Server cannot cope with. Workarounds exist for SQL 2019, but not for SQL 2014. But if you don't have a disk of the problematic type, this is not an issue for you.

As for SQLLocalDB, it is possible to run multiple versions of SQLLocalDB side-by-side. When you create an instance, you can say:

   sqllocaldb create FourTeen 12.0  

That is, you can specify a version number to create an older instance.

Any help in tricking or enabling 2014 to work with 2019 without requiring source code updates for old apps would be appreciated if supported on Win11

Not sure what you mean here. Generally, there should be no need to adapt application code for a new version of SQL Server, least of all if you keep the compatibility level at 120. But even if you go for 150, the chances that you will be subject to a breaking change is fairly small. (There are a few subtle ones.)

What is more probable is that you will see changes in performance, to the better or to the worse. (The former is more likely, but you are more likely to note the latter). Again, this is if you go to compat level 150. With compat level 120, you should not see any changes in performance.

Answer 2

Hi @Gizmo-5235 ，

From the official doc, Windows 11 does not support SQL Server 2014, but it is also true that there are cases where installation is possible, just maybe some risks need to be taken at the same time because of not support.

From this doc, SQL 2014 can work with SQL 2019, if a default instance already exists on the computer, SQL Server must be installed as a named instance
Work with multiple versions and instances of SQL Server

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