SqlExpress connection under Remote Desktop

While developing a small website this week I ran across an unusual error. 

When on my lapop, I generally remote into my desktop PC because it has Visual Studio and all the tools I need.

I decided to use a SqlExpress file as the database, since there won’t be much data for the application.  This worked for about 2 weeks until I got this error upon opening a connection:

Failed to generate a user instance of SQL Server due to a failure in starting the process for the user instance. The connection will be closed.

This error has to do with the fact that I am using remote desktop to develop.  When I access a file-based sql express database, the data is actually copied locally, which is why it takes so long to start up. 

Kevin Jones says:

SQLExpress creates a directory per user in "c:\Documents and Settings\[user]\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server Data\SQLEXPRESS" that it uses to store information. Deleting this directory has fixed both of my problems.

I’ll update this with my results.

Update:  It worked!  How weird.  This fix definitely looks temporary but it’s working for me so far.