Install SQL Server
Here are some guidelines on how to setup SQL Server for a Rock Development environment. If you already have a SQL Server that you can use, you can skip over to Create SQL Server RockUser Login.
This is the first page you'll see after starting setup. Click on Installation and choose "New SQL Server stand-online installation..."
On this page, just wait a few seconds or the Setup Support Rules to do a few tests, then press OK.
If Setup detects any updates, go ahead and include those updates and press Next.
The next step of the install might be a few more Setup Support Rules tests. If this is a local database on your development machine, you can safely ignore a Windows Firewall warning.
On the Instance Configuration page, choose Default Instance with Instance ID: MSSQLSERVER (you can create a named instance if you want, but you might have to figure out your connection strings on your own)
On the Installation Type page, choose "Perform a new installation of SQL Server 2012"
On the Product Key page, choose either the free Express edition or enter your product key. Either edition will work for Rock, but if you have a product key, go ahead and choose the product key option.
On the Setup Role page, choose the SQL Server Feature Installation option
On the Feature Selection page, you'll need at a minimum: Database Engine Services, Management Tools, and SQL Client Connectivity SDK.
On the Server Configuration page, it's OK to just leave the default (as shown) for the Service Accounts, and press Next.
On the Database Engine Configuration page, make sure to choose Mixed Mode. This is important! If you get weird errors later when trying build the Rock Database for the first time, an incorrect setting here might be the problem. Also, enter some password for the SA account. Then, click Add Current User, and make sure it adds your account. By the way, you probably won't ever really need to login as SA if you do the Add Current User. Then press Next, and click thru the rest of the OK and Next buttons until the install is complete.
When done, the next step is to Create SQL Server RockUser Login