Why can't I connect to a SQL Server 2012 LocalDB shared instance?

Question

I\'m trying to set up a SQL Server 2012 LocalDB (RTM, x64) shared instance on my Windows 7 x64 machine and I can\'t seem to connect to the shared instance. I\'m using an Admini

Answer 1

THIS ANSWER ASSUMES DELETING THE INSTANCE IS OK.
ie: all your data will be gone and that is okay.

I was having the same problem, after upgrading my SSMS.

sqllocaldb i
.\MyCustomInstance

sqllocaldb d
LocalDb instance ".\MyCustomInstance" does not exist!

sqllocaldb i .\MyCustomInstance
Windows API call "FileTimeToSystemTime" returned error code: -2147024809.

In order to get rid of the offending instance I had to create another MyCustomInstance which I guess will overwrite what's already there, and now you can delete it

sqllocaldb c MyCustomInstance
LocalDB instance "MyCustomInstance" created with version 11.0.
sqllocaldb d .\MyCustomInstance
LocalDB instance ".\Octopus" deleted.

Then, start the instance and share it. Imperative you start the instance first.

sqllocaldb s MyCustomInstance
LocalDB instance "MyCustomInstance" started.
sqllocaldb h MyCustomInstance MyCustomInstance
Private LocalDB instance "MyCustomInstance" shared with the shared name: "MyCustomInstance".

Now, when you need to connect, you connect with (localdb)\.\MyCustomInstance