How to Test a SQL Connection from any Windows Machine

Here are some quick steps you can take to test a SQL Connection from any Windows machine:

Prerequisite: Make sure that you are viewing “File name extensions” through Windows Explorer (I’m logging a bug against Windows, for crying out loud there are a billion file extensions today).

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Hit Windows Key + D to show the desktop.

Right-click on the desktop and choose to create a new text document

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Rename the file to something that ends with the file extension UDL (this is the important part)

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After which, it should look like this:

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Double-click the file, which should open this window:

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There you go, you have this window which should be familiar. Enter the Server name, choose NT Integrated security if your server is using Windows logins or fill in the user name and password if it’s using SQL auth and optionally select a database then hit Test Connection at the bottom.