Can SQLExpress 2005 and 2008 be installed on same machine without issue?

Question

I would like to install SQLExpress2005 as an instance "SQLExpress" and install SQLExpresss2008 as "SQLExpress2008" instance.

Is there any problem with doing this on the same machine?

Answer 1

As Long as you give them distinct names, there shouldn't be any problems. The binaries are stored in directories based on version, and you can (and should) point their filegroups at different locations. This should also apply to the Full versions.

Answer 2

I'm pretty sure you can with the full version of SQL, but you need to do it by installing named instances. This could be an issue with SQL Express where it doesn't give you that option.

Answer 3

Works on my machine :) Just avoid instance conflicts. Have at most one default instance and the named instance(s) should be unique.