
The 12 step process to download Microsoft SQL Server Express 2014 - martinml
http://www.istartedsomething.com/20140616/the-12-step-process-to-download-microsoft-sql-server-express-2014/
======
anton_gogolev
Ok, now that you downloaded it, try successfully _installing_ it.

The entire installation experience is a disaster both from the outside[0], and
from the inside. If I remember correctly, guys from SQL Server Setup team had
to use like 16 Product Keys to work around various, err, quirks, to put it
mildly, of the underlying MSI "technology"

[0]: [http://www.sqlservercentral.com/blogs/basits-sql-server-
tips...](http://www.sqlservercentral.com/blogs/basits-sql-server-
tips/2012/06/23/sql-server-2012-installation-guide/)

~~~
shadowwolf007
Honestly, SQL Server is one of the worst constructed and thought up
installations I've ever seen - I don't think MSI had anything to do with it.

I've seen some bad installations, but whoever made that one should not be
proud of that work.

~~~
anton_gogolev
Like I said, there are two sides of "badness".

The UI and UX is bad and it indeed doesn't have anything to do with the MSI.

The "undercovers" are appaling, this time all because of MSI. As a
consequence, there's _no way_ you can cleanly _uninstall_ Microsoft SQL Server
from the system.

~~~
shadowwolf007
I'm kinda interested in which pieces are MSI problems. There's a lot of
strangeness in msi it generally it tends to work out pretty well unless you're
doing weird stuff.

I'm not saying you're wrong - just interested!

------
BrentOzar
Just use Google or Bing to search for download SQL Server 2014 Express. The
instant download page is the second result, no registration required.

The author's complaining about the marketing pages. Marketing pages are run by
marketers, and marketers are trying to get your information. The real download
pages (the ones in Google & Bing search results) are run by the technical
teams who want to put the product in your hands.

~~~
worklogin
The inevitable "Hacker News Devil's Advocate" post.

Yes, the OP is complaining about marketing pages, because he doesn't want to
deal with marketing! He wants the danged download!

If there's something wrong with that, go for it, but having to use Google to
get to a download page from a vendor shouldn't be the 'solution'.

~~~
BrentOzar
> Yes, the OP is complaining about marketing pages, because he doesn't want to
> deal with marketing!

If you go to Shell.com to buy gas, you're going to be disappointed.

~~~
emacdona
Quite a misleading analogy. If you go to <any site>.com to buy <anything that
can't be downloaded or legally mailed to you>, you're going to be
disappointed.

Should we have the same expectations for downloadable software that we do for
gasoline (or any product that can't be downloaded or shipped)?

I say "no", but that's something we could disagree on.

------
jan_g
Just recently experienced similar process for trying to download and install
Microsoft Office for one of my relatives. First hit on Google was Microsoft
Office web page which promised 30-day free trial, after that $10 monthly fee.
I said "cool, let's try that".

The process was basically the same as OP explains for SQL Server, with the
additional step to input credit card/paypal information. At that step, I
simply canceled and after some more googling found another microsoft.com site
that had MS Office download of 60-day trial without all the registration and
payment information. However, Akamai installer was still needed (have no clue
why Microsoft forces this, as it's instant spam/virus alert in many users'
minds).

------
martinml
I guess some things never change!

[http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/2008/06/24/full-text-
an-...](http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/2008/06/24/full-text-an-epic-bill-
gates-e-mail-rant/)

~~~
danielweber
It's great to see Gates so pissed at the state of affairs. It's obvious how
all those little locally-smart-but-globally-stupid decisions can pile up into
a giant pile of crap.

------
koyote
Not surprised in the slightest.

Finding anything on a Microsoft website is the biggest user experience pain I
have ever encountered.

The fact that Google does not seem to index any of the Microsoft sites
properly (which is probably Microsoft's fault in the first place) does not
help at all. I will often search for a piece of software or an SDK on Google
only to have the first hit be a still active page to an ancient version of the
software in question; the newest version being buried somewhere on page two.
(try and search for something like '.net download'. The first hit is 4.5, the
second is 4.0, the newest is 4.5.2, the closest hit for that being number 6
and found on filehippo instead of an official Microsoft page)

That and the fact that Microsoft decides to arbitrarily and routinely change
the name of everything they produce or deprecate software/SDKs/documentation
without informing the user at all and naturally failing to point to the 'new
and recommended' alternative are my biggest gripes.

~~~
sixothree
Try figuring out what the latest service pack for any given product seems all
but impossible.

------
junto
At 1.1 GB SQL Express Advanced Version is the download you want. Because you
can't easily add full text search etc after you've installed the basic
version. I learnt that. That hard way.

[http://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/download/details.aspx?id=4229...](http://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/download/details.aspx?id=42299)

------
DanielBMarkham
When BizSparks first came out, Microsoft was pumping it as a great way for
startups to get free software to use.

I went over to the site and found what seemed like an endless stream of forms
and questionnaires. It was completely kafkaesque. I gave up.

A year or two later they fixed it up, but Microsoft seems to default to
creating complex, byzantine, and head-scratching layers of gunk between the
people they're trying to help and the help they're providing. From what I can
see it's not just SQL Server downloads. It's a corporate culture thing.

------
danielweber
In the comments is a link to the direct download page:
[http://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/download/details.aspx?id=4229...](http://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/download/details.aspx?id=42299)

I'm not sure what which (any? all?) of those options I want, but it seems much
closer to a decent user experience.

~~~
ohwp
Yep, it also took me 2 steps:

    
    
      * search on Google
      * download the software on the page you are linking to.
    

But: I agree that it's strange you can't get there via de MS site directly.

~~~
tallanvor
Well, you can get there much faster by using the search bar at the top of
their homepage.

------
mathnode
It's the same for Sybase ASE/SQL Anywhere, DB2, Informix, etc. Several hoops
to jump through, various registration details (I hit Forgot Password,
everytime); big companies with several products and one massive site made of
smaller sites to serve the needs of many people and products.

Never fear windows guys and gals, your favourite open source databases that
are massively scalable are readily available, and nobody from sales will give
you a call to discuss options:

* [https://downloads.mariadb.org](https://downloads.mariadb.org)

* [http://www.enterprisedb.com/downloads/postgres-postgresql-do...](http://www.enterprisedb.com/downloads/postgres-postgresql-downloads)

(if I put my tongue any further into my cheek I am going to make a hole!)

------
sergiotapia
I shudder from my college years when I had to install MSSQL server on my
machine or VM's. It was a real test of patience, _especially_ when I had the
most absolute basic use-case. I just wanted to install it and have it listen
to whatever defaults it used at the time.

I remember breathing a sigh of relief every time an installation completed,
because it meant my 4 hour drudgery was over with.

It's a shame to see they haven't streamlined this process. MS should release a
simple installer for students or hell, even people who want the defaults. For
example, I love Postgres.app - granted not an official release - but for dev
work it's phenomenal. I just double click the .app and it runs on default
settings.

~~~
frou_dh
My beef with installing stuff like Visual Studio and SQL Server was that for
each conceptual product installed, a dozen mostly inscrutable items got pooped
in to the mix of the Add/Remove Programs GUI. Not sure what the state of
things is these days.

~~~
daigoba66
The state of things today is just as bad if not worse.

My thinking is that the VS and SQL teams simply don't bother with the
uninstall story. It's easier to bring up a fresh new server.

------
Kesty
It's stupid, I know, but there are less step to do it even from microsoft.com

The trick is not to go to the SQL server page but goinf directly on the
download Center. From microsoft.com you to Download->Download Center and then
search for sql server 2014 express.

There you will find the one click download if you can guess what version you
actually want.

Yeah, that does not improve the process that much.

------
rbanffy

        nuget install sqlserver-express
    

Would that work?

------
yingliu4203
High time to switch to Postgresql, for its maturity, free price,simple and the
newly-added JSON feature.

------
sebgeelen
My good friends Usability and User-Friendliness just fall dead ...

