Introduction
If you want to learn how to work on or with SQL Server, you really need to have a working copy at your disposal. Gone are the times where you had to have an active server to install SQL Server, now you can install a full working copy on your personal computer (PC) or laptop.
In this tutorial, we will walk through the steps to downlaod and install SQL Server 2022 Developer Edition on your personal computer.
Prerequisites
Before you get started, you need to make sure your computer is capable of running SQL Server 2022. The following link list the minimum
system requirements to install SQL Server 2022 Developer edition.
SQL Server 2022: Hardware and Software Requirements
Most PC's and laptops, purchased in the last 10 years, are capable of installing and running SQL Server 2022 Developer edition.
But, it's not a bad idea to check to make sure.
Downloading the Software
Step 1
When downloading any software, always go to the source before attempting to download from an after-market site.
With that said, here's a link to download your own copy of SQL Server 2022 Developer edition (for free) straight from the
manufacturer, Microsoft.
SQL Server 2022 Direct Download
The link above should have opened a webpage in your browser that looks similar to Figure.1 below. Without the red x's, boxes and arrows of course.
Click on the "Download now" button in the bottom-left corner of the screen to begin your download.
Step 2
Your download should start automatically and should allow you to choose the destination folder for the download.
In this instance, it's downloading to the default "Downloads" folder on my PC.
Obviously you can download the install file to any location you choose, just make a note of where you saved the file.
Step 3
Once the download is complete, navigate your source folder (where you saved the file) and right-click on the "SQL2022-SSEI-Dev" file and choose "Run as administrator".
Step 4
In the next box, click on the “Download Media” option.
Step 5
In the next dialouge box, shown in Figure.5, make sure you have "ISO (1109 MB)" selected.
Set your language and download location and click the "Download" button.
Step 6
During the download process, your screen may flicker a few times and the messages on the download dialouge box may change several times. Ignore these for now.
Step 7
Once the download is complete, you should see a "Download Successful!" dialouge box as seen in figure.7 below.
At this point, you have two options.
- 1. Click on the "Open folder" button.
- 2. Click on the "Close" button.
If you chose option 1, Windows will automatically open the file location for you. In-which case, you will eventually need to return to this dialouge box and select the "Close" option.
In this article, we will select option 1 (Open folder). Our install process will continue with step 8 in the "Installing SQL Server 2022" section below.
Installing SQL Server 2022
Step 8
In the downloads folder, or where ever you saved the file from step 7, right-click on the file "SQL2022-x64-ENU-Dev" and select "Mount" from the drop-down menu.
Step 9
The previous step (Step 8) should have opened the setup folder. If not, navigate to that folder.
In the setup folder, right-click on the "setup" file and select "Run as administrator" from the drop-down menu.
Step 10
In the next dialouge box, click on the "Installation" option in the left pane.
Step 11
In the right pane, select the first item on the list: "New SQL Server Standalone installation..."
Step 12
In the "Edition" dialouge box, click the radio button "Specify a free edition:" and select "Developer" from the drop-down menu, then click the "Next" button.
Step 13
This is where you must accept the license terms and privacy statement. You can copy, print, or simply read them, but you must accept them in order to continue the setup process.
Step 14
In the "Microsoft Update" dialouge box, you have the option of selecting to allow Microsoft to check for updates or not. The choice is yours. This is completely optional and has no effect either way on the installation or performance of your SQL Server program.
Step 15
After you click the "Next" button in Step 14, SQL Server will run a series of test on your computer to make sure your computer can accept
the install. You should get a result set as shown below in Figure.15.
Don't worry if you have a "yellow bang" (that yellow triangle with an explination point in it) on the Windows Firewall line.
This is normal. Just make sure the other four lines have "Passed".
Step 16
Next, you will see a dialouge box that has an option that you may not have seen in older installs of SQL Server.
The Azure Extension option. This option will allow you install Azure Extensions to more easily connect to your Azure account.
However, this is not needed for our purposes today, so you may uncheck that top box "Azure Extension for SQL Server" and leave the rest of
the options at the default settings.
Step 17
In the following dialouge box, as shown in Figure.17, there are two items to pay attention to.
1. Instance Features
2. Instance root directory
Section 1: allows you to select all the features that you would like installed with your SQL instance.
For the sake of this install process, we will only select the first option, "Database Engine Services". You can select others if you
are confident in what you're doing. But, for this install and working with the questions and examples in my two companion books, SQL Practice and
Interview Questions and SQL From the Ground UP, the "Database Engine Services" is the only option needed.
Section 2: the instance root directory should be left alone at its default setting. If you want to change the location of your "mdf" and "ldf" files,
this is NOT the place to do that. We will discuss that later in Step 21.
Step 18
In the next dialouge box, you will have a chance to name your SQL instance with a unique name.
- Although you can specify a trailing name here, the first part of your SQL instance
will always be your computer name.
For example: if your computer name is "mypc" and you want to name this instance as SQL2022, then your SQL instance name will be "mypc\SQL2022". Just some food for thought.
To specify a unique name, select the "Named instance" radio button, as shown in Figure.18, put in the name you want to use. Next, click on the "Instance ID:" box and it will auto-populate with the name you provided.
Below that box, you can see the other installations that you currently have on your computer. As you can see in the example, I have an existing instance called SQL2019.
Step 19
In this step, there's nothing that we want to change. Leave everything as it is and click the next button.
Just for the record, the "Collation" tab is where you may change the language preference your country. But it's best to just leave it as is.
Step 20
Setting the authentication mode. In this section, you may select Windows authentication only or you may select the Mixed Mode. Personally, I always select the Mixed Mode for versitility. If you select Mixed Mode, then at box 2, you must provide and confirm a password for your "sa" login. "sa" stands for "System Administrator". Obviously, you want to keep this password safe. Once you have your Mix Mode selected and your password set, go to box 4 and click "Add Current User". This will add your Windows login as the "sa". It should auto-populate in the "Specify SQL Server administrators" box #3.
Step 21
Remember back on Step 17 when I said, do NOT change the destination folders and that it would be discussed later. Well, it's later. If you want to change the default location of your "mdf" and "ldf" file folders, this is where you would do that. However, unless you are really comfortable with that sequence, I would not recommend it. For now, let's just leave it at the default settings. After all, there's an easier way to accomplish this which is discussed in my book SQL From the Ground Up. So, for now, just leave the defaults and click the "Next" button to move on.
Step 22
Okay, we are entering the final stages. On the "Ready to Install" section, there is nothing really you can do here except review your selections from the previous steps. Click "Next" to continue if everything looks correct.
Step 23
Again, nothing to do here except to wait for SQL to do its magic and install your new instance. This may take several minutes depending on your computer speed and performance. So, be patient.
Step 24
If all went well, you should be looking at a dialouge box like the one in Figure.24. At this point, you click the close button to exit the install wizard. However, you will need to reboot your computer before using SQL Server.
Step 25
But I recieved an error message, I think.
If you see something like the image in Figure.25, don't panic. All went well, it's just telling you that a reboot is needed.
Simply reboot your computer and start using SQL.
Congratulations! You just installed your first instance of SQL Server 2022 Developer Edition.
... Now, let's install SSMS (SQL Server Management Studio) so we can start using our new SQL Server Instance.
Click here for that article.
