Connecting a SQL Express 2008 R2 database to Visual Studio 2017 without upgrading it

Question

I am looking for a way to get a form application that I currently have designed in Visual Studio 2017 to run on Windows XP.

To do this (and as far as my limited knowledge allows me to understand), the program must use the .NET Framework 4 and a SQL Express 2008 R2 database (both compatible with Windows XP Service Pack 3). If this is not the case please correct me.

The problem is that, of the two versions I have of the database (one in SQL Server Express 2014 version and the other in SQL Server Express 2008 R2), only the first one is accepted when added as DataSource. The second one needs to be upgraded to a newer version, but of course that would mean, or so I understand, that it would no longer be a compatible database with Windows XP as it would reach a higher version than it can tolerate.

Faced with this situation, and recognising that I am quite lost in this matter, I would like to ask for help or guidance.

Thank you very much in advance.

Answer 1

Hi @Aarón BD

Visual Studio 2017 does not support SQL Server 2008 R2.

Refer to this article: Visual Studio 2017 Platform Targeting and Compatibility VS.

Best regards,

Cosmog Hong

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Answer 2

MS SQL Server Express 2008 R2 with SP is out-of-mainstream-support since Jul 9, 2019; that's 4 years ago.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/microsoft-sql-server-2008-r2