<connectionStrings>
<add name="MyDB" connectionString="Server=local;Provider=SQLOLEDB;Initial Catalog=Shop;Trusted_Connection=Yes;DataSource==.\SQLExpress;AttachDBFilename=Data/MyDB.mdf" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient"/>
</connectionStrings>
Here's my vb code:

Dim connStr As String = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings("MyDB").ToString()
Dim DBConnection As New SqlConnection
Dim SQLCmd As New SqlCommand("SELECT * FROM tblMember WHERE UserName=@UserName", DBConnection)
SQLCmd.Parameters.Add(New SqlParameter("@UserName", tbUserName.Text))
DBConnection.Open()and on that last line I receive the error: The ConnectionString property has not been initialized


Now, I have seen SO many different versions of a connectionstring that im totally confused!!
I want to use windows authentication (I know thats better for security reasons).
But I have difficulties understanding the attributes required (AND THEIR MEANING!) of the connectionstring. (e.g. do I need to define DataSource or Initial Catalog or AttachDBFileName and the rest? What does it do exactely?)

Also: I have registered my server as "MyServer" is that the alias I need/can use in my connectionstring?

If someone could explain me the above questions it would be of GREAT help!!

<add name="MyDB" connectionString="Server=local;Initial Catalog=Dating;Trusted_Connection=Yes;" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient"/>But now I receive the following error:

Server Error in '/' Application.

---

An error has occurred while establishing a connection to the server.  When connecting to SQL Server 2005, this failure may be caused by the fact that under the default settings SQL Server does not allow remote connections. (provider: Named Pipes Provider, error: 40 - Could not open a connection to SQL Server)

Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.

Exception Details: System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException: An error has occurred while establishing a connection to the server.  When connecting to SQL Server 2005, this failure may be caused by the fact that under the default settings SQL Server does not allow remote connections. (provider: Named Pipes Provider, error: 40 - Could not open a connection to SQL Server)

Source Error:

Line 17: 'Dim SQLCmd As New OleDbCommand("SELECT * FROM tblMember WHERE UserName=@UserName", DBConnection) Line 18: SQLCmd.Parameters.Add(New SqlParameter("@UserName", tbUserName.Text)) Line 19: DBConnection.Open() Line 20: reader = SQLCmd.ExecuteReader Line 21: If reader.Read Then

<add name="MyDB" connectionString="Data Source=.\SQLEXPRESS;AttachDbFilename=|DataDirectory|\MyDB.mdf;Integrated Security=True;User Instance=True" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient"/>

If your registered your SQL Instance as MyServer instead of the default SQLEXPRESS, you'll need to change that as well to: