I saw a post that Reporting Services 2005 can access SQL 2008 databases. I see this as well. However when I attempt to use the Visual Designer I get the error message: This server version is not supported. You must have Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 or later. Is there a way to get the Visual Designer for the SQL Client to work?Larry Charlton

Hi Larry,We are able to connect to SQL Server 2008 data source from SQL Server Reporting Services 2005.The error you encountered may be a known issue in Visual Studio 2005. We need to update the Visual Studio 2005 to solve the issue.For more information, please see:Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 Update for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Support: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e1109aef-1aa2-408d-aa0f-9df094f993bf&displaylang=enPlease feel free to ask, if you have any more questions.Thanks,Jin ChenJin Chen - MSFT

When I try to apply the patch I get the error: "The upgrade patch cannot be installed by the Windows Installer service because the program to be upgraded may be missing, or the upgrade patch may update a different version of the program. Verify that the program to be upgraded exists on your computer and that you have the correct upgrade patch."I only have the BI studio 2005 (no VS prof or enterprise).Also it's not the server explorer that isn't working, it's the visual query designer in the a report. Might be the same code involved but any ideas on how to get the patch to apply would be appreciated.Larry Charlton

Hi Larry,SQL Server 2005 SP3 inclue the updates for Business Intelligence Development Studio(BIDS).I's like to suggest you to install SQL Server 2005 SP3 with only client components selected.Thanks,Jin ChenJin Chen - MSFT

Hi Jin, Thanks. I was at 2005 sp3 but had upgraded to SQL 2008. Based on your suggestion, I uninstalled all 2005 components left and reinstalled the 2005 client tools and applied service pack 3. After reinstalling I get the same error message when switching to the visual designer for a shared data source when using the SQL client. The same thing happens with an internal data source.Larry Charlton

Hi Larry, Based on my testing, we are only able to connect to SQL Server database engine 2008 from SQL Server Reporting Services 2005. However, in Business Intelligence Development Studio 2005, we can only design the query in Text mode. Thanks,Jin ChenJin Chen - MSFT

I am having this same exact issue. I can connect to a 2008 server and run a query in text mode just fine, but when I click on the 'Generic Query Designer' button at the top of the Data tab I get the same error message as Larry was getting: "This server version is not supported. You must have Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 or later." I tried to install the Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 SP1 Update for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 support, however I am unable to install that SP as I get an error message: "The upgrade patch cannot be installed by the Windows Installer service because the program to be upgraded may be missing, or the upgrade patch may update a different version of the program..." http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e1109aef-1aa2-408d-aa0f-9df094f993bf&displaylang=en I just have the standard VS 2005 Version 8.0.50727.762 (SP.050727-7600). Installed products include VS 2005 Tools for Applications, VS 2005 Premier Partner Edition - ENU SP 1, SQL Server Analysis Services, SQL Server Integration Services, and SQL Server Reporting Services. Why won't the upgrade patch work for me when the download details page for the patch states the following: "This update enables developers to use Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 with Microsoft SQL Server 2008." Has a solution been found for this issue yet? (in the meantime I guess I'll just have to brush up on my text query skills)

I have the exact same issue as Rachel, still no resolution. Same version of Visual Studio 2005 SP 1 Premier Partner Edition connecting to SQL Server 2008 and the Generic Query Designer fails to connect with the error: "This server version is not supported. You must have Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 or later." The upgrade patch also does not install. Installed Visual Studio directly off of SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition client component tools.