title: Cannot open a SQL connection to a SQL Server: The network path was not found
body: <p>I am developing a .NET based web application and I want to connect to a SQL Server, which I created using SQL Server Management Studio 2014. I already followed tutorials from <a href="https://www.itworld.com/article/3007292/development/how-to-create-sql-server-connection-strings-in-visual-studio.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ITWorld</a> and <a href="https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/823854/How-to-connect-SQL-Database-to-your-Csharp-program" rel="nofollow noreferrer">CodeProject</a> with no success. I got an error <em>"Network Path was not found"</em>. Although when I test it on Project Properties - > Settings -> Connection Properties, The result is "Test Connection succeeded". Executing Query directly via SQL Management Studio works too.</p>
  
  <p>How do I fix this problem?</p>
  
  <p><strong>Web.config</strong></p>
  
  <pre><code>  &lt;connectionStrings&gt;
      &lt;add name="SQL_Server"
        connectionString="Data Source=192.168.60.130;Initial Catalog=TestServer;Persist Security Info=True;User ID=name;Password=password"
        providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" /&gt;
    &lt;/connectionStrings&gt;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p><strong>Default.aspx.cs</strong></p>
  
  <pre><code> protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
   {
              string sqlConn = "SQL_Server";
              ConnectionStringSettings settings = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings[sqlConn];
  
              using (SqlConnection conn = new SqlConnection(settings.ConnectionString))
              {
                  conn.Open(); //this is line 31 as shown from the Stack Trace error below
                  SqlCommand command = new SqlCommand("SELECT * from [SQL_DB].[dbo].[users]", conn);
  
                  using (SqlDataReader reader = command.ExecuteReader())
                  {
                      while (reader.Read())
                      {
  
                          Console.WriteLine(reader);
                      }
                  }
                  Console.ReadLine();
                  Console.Clear();
              }
  }
  </code></pre>
  
  <p><strong>Stack Trace:</strong></p>
  
  <pre><code>[Win32Exception (0x80004005): The network path was not found]
  
  [SqlException (0x80131904): Network-related or instance-specific error when connecting to SQL Server. The server was not found or can not be accessed. Verify that the instance name is correct and that SQL Server allows remote connections. (provider: Named Pipes Provider, error: 40 - Could not open connection with SQL Server)]
     System.Data.SqlClient.SqlInternalConnectionTds..ctor(DbConnectionPoolIdentity identity, SqlConnectionString connectionOptions, SqlCredential credential, Object providerInfo, String newPassword, SecureString newSecurePassword, Boolean redirectedUserInstance, SqlConnectionString userConnectionOptions, SessionData reconnectSessionData, DbConnectionPool pool, String accessToken, Boolean applyTransientFaultHandling, SqlAuthenticationProviderManager sqlAuthProviderManager) +1431
     System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnectionFactory.CreateConnection(DbConnectionOptions options, DbConnectionPoolKey poolKey, Object poolGroupProviderInfo, DbConnectionPool pool, DbConnection owningConnection, DbConnectionOptions userOptions) +1085
     System.Data.ProviderBase.DbConnectionFactory.CreatePooledConnection(DbConnectionPool pool, DbConnection owningObject, DbConnectionOptions options, DbConnectionPoolKey poolKey, DbConnectionOptions userOptions) +70
     System.Data.ProviderBase.DbConnectionPool.CreateObject(DbConnection owningObject, DbConnectionOptions userOptions, DbConnectionInternal oldConnection) +964
     System.Data.ProviderBase.DbConnectionPool.UserCreateRequest(DbConnection owningObject, DbConnectionOptions userOptions, DbConnectionInternal oldConnection) +109
     System.Data.ProviderBase.DbConnectionPool.TryGetConnection(DbConnection owningObject, UInt32 waitForMultipleObjectsTimeout, Boolean allowCreate, Boolean onlyOneCheckConnection, DbConnectionOptions userOptions, DbConnectionInternal&amp; connection) +1529
     System.Data.ProviderBase.DbConnectionPool.TryGetConnection(DbConnection owningObject, TaskCompletionSource`1 retry, DbConnectionOptions userOptions, DbConnectionInternal&amp; connection) +156
     System.Data.ProviderBase.DbConnectionFactory.TryGetConnection(DbConnection owningConnection, TaskCompletionSource`1 retry, DbConnectionOptions userOptions, DbConnectionInternal oldConnection, DbConnectionInternal&amp; connection) +258
     System.Data.ProviderBase.DbConnectionInternal.TryOpenConnectionInternal(DbConnection outerConnection, DbConnectionFactory connectionFactory, TaskCompletionSource`1 retry, DbConnectionOptions userOptions) +312
     System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection.TryOpenInner(TaskCompletionSource`1 retry) +202
     System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection.TryOpen(TaskCompletionSource`1 retry) +413
     System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection.Open() +128
     VF.BC._Default.Page_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e) in C:\Users\VM_User\source\repos\SQLProject\Default.aspx.cs:31
     System.Web.UI.Control.OnLoad(EventArgs e) +106
     System.Web.UI.Control.LoadRecursive() +68
     System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint) +3785
  </code></pre>