If you install SQL Server Express from the download center on the SQL Server Express Web site, you will use sqlexpr.exe to run Setup. If sqlexpr.exe is run directly without saving to a folder, the temporary directory where the binary files are extracted is deleted after the installation is complete. If you try to modify the SQL Server Express components by using Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel, the Change button will look for a setup directory but will not find it.

This scenario is not true when SQL Server Express is installed as part of Visual Studio 2005 Express. For more information about Visual Studio Express, see Visual Studio 2005 Express Products.

To modify the installed SQL Server Express components, you will have to download sqlexpr.exe again from the Web site, and save the .exe to a folder. At the command prompt, change the path to the folder where the .exe is stored, and run Setup by using the sqlexpr.exe  –x parameter. You will be prompted to select an extraction/installation directory.

When you have extracted the Setup files, you can use the Change button to make modifications to your SQL Server Express installation by specifying the extraction directory when prompted.

In the following scenario, SQL Server Express will not start in single user mode:

After installing SQL Server Express, you start the service, verify the connection, and then stop the service by using SQL Server Configuration Manager. You then go to the command prompt and start SQL Server Express in single user mode by using the following command:

Sqlservr.exe -s SQLEXPRESS -m

The service will start. However, if you shut down the service and try to start it again, the service will not start.

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