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Anonymous
Not applicable

Users Unable to Connect to MS SQL and Refresh Data. Network-Related or Instance-Specific; Error 40

I am using an organizational account and a report generated by someone in the company. At some point in the past, that someone connected to and pulled data from our MS SQL database and was able to refresh data at will. They even shared the report with someone else in the organization who had no issues using the original creator's credentials to refresh the data on his own machine.

I, however, am unable to use ANY credentials to access that same information when I bring the report onto my machine. Both myself and the creator are obviously credentialed on the server side (I am able to connect to other non-PowerBI-related parts of the same server by other means). When I try to use any credentials, even unauthorized ones, I get the following error:

 

 

 

 

DataSource.Error: Microsoft SQL: A network-related or instance-specific error occurred while establishing a connection to SQL Server. The server was not found or was not accessible. Verify that the instance name is correct and that SQL Server is configured to allow remote connections. (provider: Named Pipes Provider, error: 40 - Could not open a connection to SQL Server)

 

 

 

 

Here's what I've tried:

  • Logging in via all the available options
    • Using current and alternate windows credentials (Error: We couldn't authenticate with the credentials provided. Please try Again)
    • Dircectly to the database (Says 'Waiting for [database]', then throws the same Error 40 above)
    • Using the Microsoft Account login with my Organizational Account (Results in the same Error 40 as well)
  • Logging in with another authorized user's credentials in the same 3 methods (No change)
  • Reinstalling PowerBI, restarting computer, etc. (No change)
  • Using an alternate account on the same computer (No change)
  • Using both 32-bit and 64-bit versions (No change)
  • Connecting to other data sources. This works fine. I'm able to very easily connect to Google Analytics and Salesforce with their respective connectors.
  • Using a fresh report generated on my own machine (No change, same errors).
  • Using different company report (No change)
  • Reinstalled our VPN, refreshed my VPN cert, even used a colleagues VPN profile (No change)
  • Finally tried the same steps to get data from our database into Excel. Throws what is effectively the same error. 

Just to reiterate, I know for sure that my credentials are correct and there are no erroneous keystrokes anywhere in the process. I was able to successfully log in and pull data while using my own credentials on a colleague's machine.

 

Some other potentially relevant information:

I am using a non Microsoft Store version of PowerBI. It is the same version number as my colleaugues', though (2.86.902.0 32-bit (October 2020)). I got my version from here because I was running into an error on the official Microsoft Store version of the app where I was unable to open ANY shared .pbix files. Switching to this non-store version resolved that issue, however my colleagues are still using that store version with no issues.

 

I am unsure where to proceed next. I have done my best to look for this issue on various forums and plan to commence with the steps outlined here, though I dont see it being helpful because again, we are able to get into the server by other means.

1 REPLY 1
v-shex-msft
Community Support
Community Support

HI @Anonymous,

So you mean this issue only appears on a specific device and it works well when you test with other devices with the same account? 

If this is the case, I suppose this should more be related to your device's settings. Any particular policies, rules, security, permissions setting enabled on your device? Is there any software/hardware environment difference between you and your colleagues? Please provide more detailed information to help us clarify your issue.

How to Get Your Question Answered Quickly 

BTW, since this is a specific device-related issue. I'd like to suggest you open a support ticket to contact to power bi team with detailed device settings to help troubleshoot backend reasons.

submit a support ticketsubmit a support ticket

Regards,

Xiaoxin Sheng

Community Support Team _ Xiaoxin
If this post helps, please consider accept as solution to help other members find it more quickly.

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