Fix - Cannot connect to the configuration database error in SharePoint

This SharePoint tutorial, we will discuss how to fix error “cannot connect to the configuration database” in SharePoint.

When Microsoft users access SharePoint 2010/SharePoint 2013, they come across a very common error i.e. “Cannot connect to the configuration database” which means that SharePoint is unable to synchronize with the database and hence, end users cannot view it.

cannot connect to the configuration database

Before knowing how to fix cannot connect to the configuration database SharePoint error, let us understand why the error is coming.

The reason behind the error

Well, there are many reasons due to which this configuration error occurs and some of them are:

Internet connectivity may be lost between server databases.
It may be due to the SQL database not functioning properly.
The installation of the service pack of SQL server application is done improperly.
The permissions may not be granted for accessing the SQL Server database.
The new server has not been added to the domain of SharePoint 2010.

The solution for Fixing the Error:

Before going through the procedure for resolving configuration error, first, check whether the following criteria are fulfilled or not:

All permissions related to accessing the SQL database are granted.
Check and validate whether the SQL database is in running mode.
Microsoft SQL Server to be accessed is not blocked by Firewall.

If the above-mentioned criteria are not fulfilled, then we need to successfully fulfill these criteria first and check whether the error still occurs or not.

If the occurrence of error continues, then go for the below-mentioned solution for fixing the error:

Step-1:
For connectivity between SharePoint and Microsoft SQL server database, check whether the status of the SQL database is in running mode or not. If not then change its status to running mode, else continue with the next step.

Step-2:
The internet connectivity of your machine must be proper and there should be accurate mapping in between the servers involved in it.

Step-3:
Check and Validate whether the Internet Information Service (IIS) manager of your PCs is not in isolation mode. However, if it is in isolation mode then remove it from that mode.

Step-4:
If the server is newly added to the domain, then check whether it is configured properly or not by analyzing the computer management of your machine.

Step-5:
After completing all the above-mentioned steps and if the error still occurs, then first uninstall the pre-installed service pack of the SQL server and then again re-install it because the cause of this error may be due to improper installation of the service pack.

Here we can conclude with the fact that there are various reasons due to which ‘cannot connect to the configuration database’ error occurs in SharePoint 2010. Therefore, multiple solutions given in the content can be used to handle the situation.

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I hope this will be helpful to fix the error cannot connect to the configuration database error in SharePoint.

Bijay Kumar

After working for more than 15 years in Microsoft technologies like SharePoint, Office 365, and Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI), I thought will share my SharePoint expertise knowledge with the world. Our audiences are from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, etc. For my expertise knowledge and SharePoint tutorials, Microsoft has been awarded a Microsoft SharePoint MVP (9 times). I have also worked in companies like HP, TCS, KPIT, etc.