Error installing CRM 4.0 and reporting services on SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition

While making a new insallation of CRM 4.0 recently, I encountered a little error:

Setup requires SQL Server Reporting Services 2005 Hotfix for role creation on SQL Reporting Service SP2 Workgroup edition at the specified Reporting Services Report Server http://CRMServer/reportserver.

I found it fairly difficult to locate this elusive hotfix. So for anyone else looking for it.. Request your hotfix from http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936305.

Now, before everybody gets up in arms about the idea of "Requesting a hotfix", you should be aware that although Microsoft Dynamics CRM hotfixes are not so freely available to download, they are simple to aquire. Just make your request from the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Hotfix site, and within seconds the download link and password(if applicable) will be emailed to you.

Display Database Image in SSRS from Northwind demo database.

If you’re reading this, then like me you probably fiddled around for an hour or so, scratched a hole in your head and wondered how such an easy job can be so impossible.

We’re building a SQL Server Reporting Services report that displays an image retrieved from a database field. This is easy.. Assuming that you already know how to build a simple SSRS report, to add a database image, simply select the image field into your dataset, drop an image control onto your report and select its “value” to the value of the image field from your dataset.

If you try this using the SQL Server version of Northwind, you’re sure to have trouble. The image will not display and you’ll get a little red cross in the control.

After a quick google search I came across these sites:

http://www.rp2c.com/blogofbob/NorthwindDatabaseEmployeePhotoInfo.aspx

Northwind employees table - photo field

Robert Porter speaks the fact that the images saved in the Northwind database are not standard GIF formats, but OEM. Basically caused by converting a MS Access database to SQL Server. There’s also some sample there, but that didn’t work for me. Eventually after a lot more research and help, we have this line of code that converts the OEM GIF image into one readable by SSRS:

System.Convert.FromBase64String(Mid(System.Convert.ToBase64String(Fields!Photo.Value), 105))

If you must use Northwind’s original data to display an image on an SSRS report, then use the above line as the image value. Any other SQL Server image field would not need this and will work just fine by simply using the plain field value.