Please note -- in this topic the phrase "You can download SSMSE with Tools" is slightly incorrect. The phrase "with tools" should be removed from that sentence because the link in that section points to the stand-alone download of SSMSE. If you want to download a version of the SQL Server Express package together with the management tools, you can get that from:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=7522a683-4cb2-454e-b908-e805e9bd4e28&DisplayLang=en

Tai Yee

Microsoft

I've just wasted the best part of the day - first I downloaded management studio 2005 only to find out it does not work with 2008 - then came here read the comments followed the link provided which *does not* point to the correct version of management studio. Only from the other posters comments can I deduce that it is not available and therefore I think this page should state clearly that it is not yet available and offer alternative solutions. Does this mean I have to acutally uninstall SQL server express 2008 and install 2005 just so that I can use managemet studio? What a joke!

[Tai Yee - MSFT] Sorry for the bad experience you had. As I mentioned in the first Comment to this topic above, the correct download for SQL Server 2008 with Management Studio is at: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=7522a683-4cb2-454e-b908-e805e9bd4e28&DisplayLang=en .

[sunsong] Very kind of you to put in a link, however, it is NOT a link to SQL Server 2008 with Management Studio. I have searched extensively and cannot find any link to an Express edition of Management Studio that will work with Server Express 2008. The 2005 version of Management Studio does not work with Server Express 2008.

[sunsong] Finally found it. Management Studio is indeed included with the Link above (i.e. the "with Tools" version). However, you have to run the install twice and the second time go into "Install" and choose the option to add features. You must uninstall your 2005 version of Management Studio Express first. See this link http://blogs.msdn.com/sqlexpress/archive/2008/08/24/faq-switching-between-sql-server-2008-edtions.aspx

[Tai Yee - MSFT] Thank you for following up and sharing your experience. This will be helpful to others who run into this problem.

Remove sql server 2005 compact edition before installing sql server 2008 express to get management studio installed.

The 2008 version of the Management Studio is not a stand alone installation and can only be installed as part of the SQL Server 2008 Express with Tools or Advanced installation.

Like many others, I spent countless hours trying to figure out how to install the Management Studio for SQL Server 2008 Express - Advanced installation (same should apply to the w/ Tools version). What happened in my case was that I installed Visual Studio 2008 Express and during that process a stripped down "Instance" of SQL Server 2008 was installed that did not include the Management Studio. Through much pain and torture I learned that the Management Studio can only be installed during installation of the first instance. To delete that first instance, you must go to "Add or Remove Programs" and remove "Microsoft SQL Server 2008". The removal process will only remove one instance at a time and if you have installed more than one instance you need to keep going until all instances have been removed and the application completely disappears from the Add or Remove Programs" dialog. Note:You do not need to uninstall any of the other SQL Server 2008 applications that also appear in the "Add or Remove Programs" dialog. Then go back through the install process as follows: Double click on SQLEXPRADV_x86_ENU.exe to load the SQL Server Installation Center and then go to Installation > New SQL Server stand-alone installation. Then proceed through all of the installation steps until you get to “Feature Selection” and click on “Select All” to toggle on all of the Shared Features, which should include Management Tools - Basic.Continue the process from there and you should be good to go. Hopefully this will help others to avoid much of the pain that many of us have already experienced.

[Tai Yee - MSFT] In regards to the opening statement "The 2008 version of the Management Studio is not a stand alone installation and can only be installed as part of the SQL Server 2008 Express with Tools or Advanced installation." -- that was true in the past but it is no longer true. A stand-alone version of SQL Server 2008 Management Studio Express is now available, and linked from this topic. Here is the link again for reference: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=08e52ac2-1d62-45f6-9a4a-4b76a8564a2b&displaylang=en.

I installed the default standalone instance and foujnd the same as other people that the management studio was missing. To fix i simply re-ran the setup file, chose 'modify existing instance' then on the feature selection page under the 'shared' section there it is... I believe it is call management tools (basic).

You dont need to remove any instance you have created.

Hi,

in the meantime the SSMSE 2008 is downloadable standalone

https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=08e52ac2-1d62-45f6-9a4a-4b76a8564a2b&displayLang=en

mfg

Klaus Oberdalhoff

I can confirm needing to uninstall the instance if it was first installed by Visual Studio. After installing Visual Studio, when trying to add SSMSE by running SQL Express install with Tools (and also tried the Management Studio Express 2008 standalone install), the "Management Tools - Basic" selection is simply not available. I uninstalled "Microsoft SQL Server 2008" as recommended by Paradox1 and then was able to select the Management Tools during reinstallation using the SQL Express install w/ Tools.

I started at www.asp.net and installed silverlight cause they were pushing it so hard.
Then DL'd MS /net framework ver 3.5 sp1.
Then DL'd Vis web dev 2008 express edition sp1.
So far so good and the Vis Web Dev deal installs SQL 2008 express.

Not sure why i wouldn't want a GUI interface to manage the SQL Server? or why it isn't installed by default? Somebody at MS must think managing MSDE with OSQL back in the day was fun.

So i decide to DL the sql 2008 Express gui interface - SQLManagementStudio_x86_ENU.exe = 168MB.

but then found i had to have powershell (still don't know why). WindowsXP-KB926139-v2-x86-ENU.exe

but that required windows validation - WGAPluginInstall.exe. what a joke.

So know i have all this *** and a big bloated installer for the SQL Express Mgmt Studio.
And after waiting multiple times for it to "process the current operation" i get nothing.
I try to "Add features to an existing instance..." , do 'select all' on the features list and get told that "to continue one or more features must be selected."
Well Duh!

[tfl - 12 06 09] Hi - and thanks for your post. You should post questions like this to the MSDN Forums at http://forums.microsoft.com/msdn or the MSDN Newsgroups at 

  http://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/en-us/. You are much more likely get a quicker response using the forums than through the Community Content. For specific help about:
Visual Studio  : http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?sel=usenet%3Dmicrosoft.public.vstudio%2C&
.NET Framework : http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?sel=usenet%3Dmicrosoft.public.dotnet.framework
All Public     : http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?sel=usenet%3Dmicrosoft.public%2C&

I'm having the EXACT same experience, it's like MSFT is trying to take the worst aspects from the linux/open source development world and add the bad parts to their system. Seriously WTF, the one thing MSFT had left was the simplicity and intuitiveness of their systems. It's quite obvious that somebody that loves spending their time configuring *** has thrown away the idea of simple intuitive automation in favor of manual configurations, yay. 

just confirming what others have experienced as well:

today, on Jun 26 2009, the link mentioned in the article
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=144346
leads to a the download page for"Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 Management Studio Express".

Downloading this 170MB monster and invoking it opens the "SQL Server Installation" where you can choose "Add features to an existing instance". Fine. The list with features presented then does not contain any reference to the "Management Studio Express". The only thing to check there is the "SQL Client Connectivity SDK".

But after installing it, without surpize I don't have a SSMSE after going through the installation procedure.

This is really ridiculous!!!

So - without removing the already running SQL Server 2008 installation - how do I get SSMSE?

Where is the standalone SSMSE download?

[Tai Yee - MSFT] that is the correct place to download SSME. You may have had SQL Express already installed by Visual Studio, in which case you will need to remove it first. See the other Community Content items contributed to this topic above, in particular the ones titled "Trying to install Server Management Studio after first installing Visual Studio Product" and "You dont need to remove any instance you have created". Another good idea would be to read the Release Notes that are linked from the Instructions section of that download page. Here is the direct path to the Release Notes:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/9/e/49eeb41a-a769-4520-80d6-671b8ae2bd06/SQLServer2008ReleaseNotes.htm

6/30/2009