title: SQL Server Express and Entity Framework
body: <p>I'm new to SQL Server Express (not to SQL Server in general) and I have a problem. I'm using Entity Framework (6-beta) in an ASP.NET MVC application.</p>
  
  <p>I created a database using the SQL Server Management Studio. I can connect to the DB using Management Studio and my local Windows user account.
  I dind't change the default configuration, so the SQL Server stores the data files in :</p>
  
  <pre><code>C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL11.SQLEXPRESS\MSSQL\DATA
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>The .mdf file of my database is stored in this folder.</p>
  
  <p>My problem is: When I start the MVC application from Visual Studio, Entity Framework failes to open a connection to the database. The exception text is quite unprecise, but the inner exception reveals that it tries to connect to:</p>
  
  <pre><code>C:\Users\&lt;MyUser&gt;\Workspaces\&lt;Solution&gt;\&lt;Project&gt;\App_Data\&lt;Context&gt;.mdf
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>My connection string is:</p>
  
  <pre><code>"Data Source=.\SQLEXPRESS; Initial Catalog=&lt;Name&gt;; User Instance=False; Integrated Security=True;"
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Does anyone know why Entity Framework tries to connect to this file? What can I do?</p>