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[QUOTE="jmcilhinney, post: 166723, member: 641"]
If you want to use SQL Server then you have to have SQL Server installed somewhere, plain and simple.  You have two choices with SQL Server:

1. You can connect to a database that is permanently attached to a SQL Server instance.
2. You can attach a database file to a SQL Server instance on demand.

You are currently using option 1.  If you want to continue using option 1 then your user will need SQL Server or SQL Server Express installed on either their own machine or another machine on their network.  The database will also have to be created/attached on that instance.  If you want to use option 2 then your user will need to have SQL Server Express installed on their local machine and you would deploy the database file (MDF) with your application.

If you don't want to require that SQL Server be installed then you can't use a SQL Server database.  SQL Server is a server-based database and thus MDF data files are useless without a server installed.  If you don't want to have to install a server then you must use a file-based database, e.g. Access, SQLite or SQL Server CE.  Despite the name, SQL Server CE is a completely different product to SQL Server and SQL Server Express.

So, the first thing you need to do is decide what type of database you want to move forward with.  Note that you can configure an installer created in VS to install SQL Server Express on the local machine simply by checking a box.
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