It's on a win2k server, SQL 2k & SQL 2k5, pearl & PHP are installed and working on IIS 5.

Whenever I launch the install.php and enter the stuff it asks for, I get a fatal error stating it cannot connect to the database. In the SQL Server management studio, I'm able to connect via the same info I entered (MS SQL 7/2000, database host name, database name, username, password, etc). I enabled the MS SQL module in PHP, so that's not the issue.

Anyone have any pointers?

Aside from "Run is on Linux with MySQL like you're fucking supposed to"...

What's the db server name in the config? Try both 'localhost' and whatever the FQDn of the machine is.

Then install Linux.

LOL, I know, I just like making things difficult.

I tried localhost and 'kdc02e' but didn't try the fqdn....Nope, didn't work either.

I'm leeching off a server at work and don't have any linux boxes. The closest thing is an AIX 4.3 RS/6000 that's collecting dust.

I'm probably gonna scrap phpbb, but the challenge is bugging the crap out of me and causing me to try harder to get it to work.

**EDIT**
Should I have created the database already in SQL Server? I tried it with a new name (non-existant database) and a new database name.

Ask *cough*Skizzo*cough*

meh, I'm gonna install SQL Server on a different machine to connec to. I couldn't even get a simple VB.NET app to connect. I think something's up with that MSDE.

Got it.

MSDE by default disallows network connections, which I'm guessing is the reason it wasn't allowing phpbb to connect to it, even though it was on the same machine.

I had to install with these switches:

Setup.exe DISABLENETWORKPROTOCOLS=0 SAPWD="password" SECURITYMODE=SQL

to allow network connections and allow SQL authentication (which doesn't work, BTW, you have to enable SQL authentication in the registry).

Once I did that, it worked.

subtitle:

windows blows balls.