[2] => [Microsoft][SQL Server Native Client 10.0]Named Pipes Provider: Could not open a connection to SQL Server [53].
[message] => [Microsoft][SQL Server Native Client 10.0]Named Pipes Provider: Could not open a connection to SQL Server [53].
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I see this in a wireshark trace when I try to hit our sql server from one of our pages. This is when trying to log into the site. I tried to enable named pipes and that did not help. I also tried repairing the installation of sql and that did not help. Also, I was able to start the SQL Browser in Windows services on that machine. But, when viewing the SQL Configuration, the SQL Browser was displayed as stopped. There was no instance name under the SQL connections. So, I tried to give the SQL Browser an object but I was not able to do so. So, there was still no instance name for the SQL Browser. Any ideas?

Go to the client machine, and run cliconfg.exe

I expect that the Named Pipes protocol will be first in the list. If it is, demote it, and promote TCP/IP.

Test the application thoroughly.

Check to make sure the errors have gone away.

I do not think that is installed on this box. When I tried to run it from the command line, windows tells me it cannot find cliconfig.exe. Do I need something else installed to run this?

I found the order. I am using SQL 2008. So, I found the client order under SQL Native Client 10.0 configuration. Named pipes is actually disabled. It is also disabled on the server. But, it was lower in the order anyways.

Cliconfg.exe does not have the second "i". The Native Client configuration will probably not affect older providers (such as OLEDB, or MSDASQL)

Ha, and I read something about that second 'i' in another forum.

Ok, great. I ran it and TCP/IP is the first in the list. Named pipes is second in the list. Both are enabled.

Hmm...Error 53 is can not find network path. Is it possible there is an application that has a bad config that is looking for a non-existent machine? It would fit, in that the tcp/ip library would fail. Then the request would pass down to named pipes, which would also fail.

That definitely could be the case. Part of the problem is that I came into this with the machine already set up. So, the web files were already installed onto the machine and the SQL server was already installed onto the machine. I just reverted to the snapshot in a program we are using for that. So, basically, I did not set the machine up. Which in turn means that your question is very valid and very possible. That is actually why I ran the network trace to begin with. Unfortunately, I do not know where to dig into the code to see where it was pointing to. I was hoping for any config file, but I only saw one and there was nothing relating to this in this file.

But, this is still good information go know. At least knowing what you said about error 53 points me in a possible direction.

Thanks so far. I will keep you posted.