After six months of using SQL Server 2008 Trial, the party is finally over; my free trial has expired.  Unlike most trial software applications Microsoft does not present the user with a dialog box indicating that there are only X number of days remaining with the trial version.  The SQL Server service will just shutdown and no longer be able to start up.

It’s not entirely obvious HOW to upgrade from the trial version.  Thankfully there are other places to find this info other than Microsoft.  In a nutshell, all you need to do is go to the MAINTENANCE window, not the INSTALLATION window.

I found the following post by Shahfaisal Muhammed particularly helpful:

http://shahfaisalmuhammed.wordpress.com/2010/02/22/sql-server-2008-evaluation-edition-upgrade/

If you haven’t already done so, you might want to avoid having to edit your registry by upgrading to SP1 before upgrading your trial version.

After the SP1 update and the upgrade I was presented with a nasty window indicating that the server was in script mode and could only be accessed by the admin:

MSSQL 2008 SP1 Install – Server is in script upgrade mode. Only administrator can connect at this time

I found this post by Steven White to be reassuring that the end of the world is not approaching:

http://sqlblogcasts.com/blogs/stevenwhite/archive/2009/06/25/mssql-2008-sp1-install-server-is-in-script-upgrade-mode-only-administrator-can-connect-at-this-time.aspx

Thanks to Shahfaisal and Steven for their postings.  Very helpful.

Stay curious,

Dave