Forum Discussion
Exporting a database: "Choose a data source." What???
I'm trying to export a SQL Server database, and things aren't going well. I hope someone can help.
First, the problem I've solved. I mention it because it may be a clue to what went wrong next.
I started SSMS (version 21.5.14+6.36429.23, if that matters), right clicked the database I want to export, and selected Tasks > Export Data. Whoops... Export Data was disabled. I researched this and learned that I must need to install the Import/Export Wizard. Which made no sense, because Import was enabled, and I have imported a database before. (If I hadn't, I'd have none to export!)
I tried to (re)install the Wizard, and that fixed the problem, although I still don't understand how it could have.
So, I clicked Export Data and got a Welcome screen. I clicked Next and got a screen titled Choose a Data Source. This is incomprehensible to me. I'm running the SQL Server Import/Export Wizard. I got there by right-clicking a particular database in a particular server. The only possible data source is that database. But the Wizard wasn't happy with that, and offered me a dropdown list of 13 options that meant nothing to me.
I figured I couldn't go wrong with the default, but I did. The default was "Net Framework Data Provider for Odbc." When I clicked Next, I got an error box that said, "The operation could not be completed. / The ConnectionString property has not been initialized. (System.Data)"
I could look up the meaning of the message, but I'm not sure that's what I want to know. Or I could look up the meanings of all 13 options in the dropdown and try to figure out which one to use to export a database, but I've got other things I need to do today. I came here.
1 Reply
- carlwalkCopper Contributor
Could be that the wizard defaulted to the wrong provider. Even if you launch it from SSMS, it won’t automatically pick SQL Server as the source.
On the Choose a Data Source screen, select: Data provider NET Framework Data Provider for SqlServer or SQL Server Native Client if available. Then enter the server name, auth method, and database.
The error you saw (Connection String property has not been initialized) usually happens when the wizard is set to ODBC without a configured DSN, which was the default in your case.
Once you switch the provider to the correct SQL Server option and test the connection, the rest of the export wizard should work normally.