Cannot connect to local database

[aquamarine]

I am using visual basic 2005 standard edition and sql server express edition. The problem i am having is that i cannot connect to the database with the sqlConnection.open() method. When i test the connection in the server explorer the test suceeds and i also have no problem accessing the data through controls so i think the problem is with my connection string. I have tried all different variations from connection strings.com and am still stuck.I am using windows authentication and i am running sql server and visual studio on the same machine. I have been trying to figure this out for a while now could somebody please help me out with this