BarTender Librarian Will Not Connect to Database – Bartender Problem

Summary

This article explains several possible causes and solutions to a BarTender problem that causes a client PC to be unable to connect to a system database.

Symptoms

Running Librarian for the first time
BarTender asks the user to either create or find a BarTender System Database
Librarian application fails to list the database and SQL Server instance

Explanation

This can be caused by:

Connection information for the instance of SQL Server is not accessible (i.e. by browsing)
The BarTender System Database has not been setup

Solution

Resolve one or several of the issues above:

Check the SQL Server settings and make sure the server firewall is not blocking the ports (see KBA-01136-Q7Y0V)
Run the BarTender System Database Setup wizard and verify it has been setup with SQL Management Studio (see KBA-01126-H6Q3S1)