Take the 2-minute tour ×  I installed VS2010 and it
automatically installed SQL Server 2008 Express.  Now, the
installed instance is called SQLEXPRESS, therefore to connect to
it I have to use 'localhost\SQLEXPRESS' or '.\SQLEXPRESS' or
something like that.  I want to rename the instance so I can
connect using only my computer name or 'localhost'.  How do I do
this?   share|improve this question add comment  3 Answers  up
vote 8 down vote accepted  There is no way you can rename an
instance of SQL Server. You can probably create a new instance
with just the machine name so that it suits you requirements.
I'm not sure of the express version of SQL Server bundled with
VS 2010, but with the Standalone SQL Express 2008 (or R2),
running the setup again will let you create a new instance.
enter image description here  share|improve this answer +1 You
will need to re run the setup (this will create a new instance
of SQL Server) and make sure that you select the Default
Instance. This will allow you to connect with