Some Microvellum users may get an error related to SQL server connection issues such as: "A connection to the factory database could not be established. Please select a different configuration."
Symptom: Microvellum starts up but freezes, and you're unable to click Start.
If this is your issue, be sure to close Microvellum via Task Manager before making changes to the registry.
Before you begin: rule out a stopped SQL Server service. This same connection error can also appear simply because the SQL Server Windows service isn't running on your server - this is far more common than a registry issue and doesn't require any registry changes to fix.
On the machine hosting your Microvellum database, open Services (Start Menu, type "services.msc").
Locate SQL Server (MVCLOUD) (or your named SQL Server instance).
Check the Status column - if it does not say "Running," right-click it and select Start.
Right-click the service, select Properties, and confirm Startup type is set to Automatic, so it restarts automatically after a server reboot.
Once the service is running, close and reopen Microvellum and try connecting again.
If the service was already running and set to Automatic, or restarting it doesn't resolve the issue, continue to the registry steps below - these steps tell Microvellum to check your local database so that you can log in and reconnect to the SQL server.
Left-click on "Start Menu" and type "regedit.exe."
Follow the path as shown for your version:
OEM | HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microvellum\Toolbox\R[version]\Toolbox-[build:locale]\Configurations\<Configuration Name>\Database Settings |
Microvellum BSB | Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microvellum\Toolbox\V25x64\[language and version]\Configurations\[Configuration Name]\Database Settings |
Microvellum Standard: | HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microvellum\Toolbox\R7.0\Toolbox-Standard \Configurations\[Configuration Name]\Database Settings |
ALIS (Legacy): | HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microvellum\ALIS\R7.0\ALIS \Configurations\[Configuration Name]\Database Settings |
Note: each path has two Microvellum/Toolbox-related folders in a row before you reach "Configurations" - don't skip the second one. For example, on Microvellum Standard the full path is Toolbox > R7.0 > Toolbox-Standard > Configurations. If you don't see a "Configurations" key immediately under the version folder (R7.0, R[version], or V25x64), look one level deeper inside Toolbox-Standard (or Toolbox-[build:locale] for OEM builds) - that's where it lives.
Right-click on "DataBaseType" and "Modify" - change "SQL" to "SQLCE" - restart the program.
Startup Microvellum, go to Microvellum Setup > Options > Data Access > Set to SQL Server and reconnect to your SQL server by DataCatalog and DataSource -- Be sure to test the connection!