Windows XP SP2 can cause Content Studio to stop working

Applies to: Content Studio all versions running on Windows XP SP2

After installing Windows XP Service pack 2 on a machine that runs Content Studio and SQL-server used by this installation is running on another machine Content Studio might stop working. NOTE This only affects the computer where Content Studio is installed not web clients using Content Studio.

Windows XP SP2 default installation prevents most network access to SQL Server--including to Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (MSDE). This is caused by the built in Windows Firewall.

You need to configure the Windows Firewall to accept connections to SQL-server / MSDE.

There are a couple of useful links to articles on the Microsoft web site. The best place to start is with FAQ: How Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) Affects SQL Server and MSDE. This FAQ answers questions about how XP SP2 affects SQL Server and MSDE, how you can tell if your installations of SQL Server or MSDE are blocked, what to do if your application needs SQL Server to listen to the network, what you should do to update your SQL Server system, and where to find more technical information about getting XP SP2 to work with SQL Server and MSDE. You also need to review How to enable SQL Server connectivity on Windows XP Service Pack 2 to learn how to set SQL Server as an exception in Windows Firewall.