are easy.
Download from MS, click on installer, follow instructions.
Checking connectivity, the only tools you get with MSDE is osql which is command line.
A quck connectivity test though is to just set up an ODBC DSN and hit the test button.
You should also be able to link to it from Access ona client as well.
Porting your project.. that's a furry one.
Do all the clients have access, if that's the problem you are 'solving' with getting MSDE, then you've gone wrong. If they haven't got an access install, then what you really want is the Acess Developer's Toolkit, which will turn your access application into an executable.
If you are moving to MSDE, for multi-user and higher volume data, you should be aware MSDE has a built in choke and will only execute eight transactions simultaneously, the ninth, get's blocked until one of the running eight completes.
I ported a paradox backend to MSDE, and as soon at we hit about 15 users at the same time performance fell through the floor. Note you wouldn't get this problem with SQL Express 2005 or any full version of SQl Server.
Port your project.
Access can link to SQL server, you move your data (may have a quiblle on some data types) , point access at it job done.
All your clients must have access installed though.
Access Developer's tool kit get's round the latter problem.
Howeever unless your reasons for going to MSDE are based on the fact that access is crap , at high volume, high throughtput, multi user DB apps, putting MSDE is a waste of time. Just put you MDB on a network drive, job done.
A word of caution, access is a desktop database, if you've got something non-trivial that works well in access, it's likely to be slow, subject to locks and seriously flakey, once you move to a full database.
HtHs
