>>Check if this MSDN thread MSDN thread can be of some help.
>
>Hi Naomi,
>
>Thanks for the reply.
>
>I was reading that thread a few hours ago. It seems to have more to do with installing SQL server than installing the database. Install is easy for an MSI project, you just set it as a prerequisite for the project. Already tested that, it installs it just fine.
>
>I'm more concerned with installing the database. I know there are a number of ways to go about it, I'm thinking a user instance might be best for this application. But I also need to make sure that the database doesn't get overwritten when I upgrade the software and that I can run any needed upgrade scripts.
>
>The 2008 version looks like it might have a smaller install to it, which would be nice. Also, if I'm going to install something, newer software generally makes more sense for me to install than older. But for my purposes I still want to maintain compatibility with 2005.

Once database is installed, we apply all changes through the scripts.