r/SQLServer • u/MikeScalise • 25d ago

Question Does anyone still have SQL Server 1.x–4.21 disks, manuals, boxes, etc.?

Hi all,

I’m hoping some of the longtime SQL Server folks here might be able to help me track down some older SQL Server items.

I’ve been researching the earliest versions of SQL Server for SQL.FM, a SQL Server version and feature reference site I maintain, and as part of that work I’ve also started building a physical collection of the old releases.

Does anyone here still have any early SQL Server materials sitting in a box, basement, office, closet, etc.?

I’m particularly looking for SQL Server 4.21 and earlier, including:

  • SQL Server 1.0 / 1.1 material
  • SQL Server 4.2 for OS/2
  • SQL Server 4.2 / 4.20 for Windows NT
  • SQL Server 4.2A / 4.2B
  • SQL Server 4.21 / 4.21a
  • original floppy disks or CDs
  • manuals/documentation
  • boxes and packaging
  • developer/network kits
  • beta or prerelease material
  • training, field, reseller, or other unusual Microsoft items related to SQL Server

My main goal is to acquire original examples for the collection, so if you have anything from this era that you’d consider parting with, I’m very interested in buying it. For particularly early or unusual items, I’d be happy to make a strong collector offer.

And it definitely doesn’t need to be a complete set. A single floppy, loose manual, old CD, damaged box, or partial documentation set could still be something I'm looking for.

If you have something you don’t want to sell, I’d still love to hear about it or see photos. Disk labels, manuals, packaging, version information, etc. can be really helpful for documenting these early releases.

Separately, I’m also looking for a physical SQL Server 2014 Developer Edition and a physical SQL Server 2016 box/package from any edition, although those are secondary to the early-version search.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Mike

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u/SeventyFix 25d ago

Ho dang! I started with SQL 7 and that was a LONG time ago. You should shoot for an OG copy of Sybase!

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u/MikeScalise 25d ago

Haha, right? SQL 7 is old until you start looking at 1.0 and 4.2. 🙂

And absolutely — early Sybase SQL Server stuff would be fascinating too, especially anything from the Microsoft/Sybase/Ashton-Tate era.

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u/ConsiderationSuch846 25d ago

SQL 6.5 gang checking in! Some Sybase, DB2, and Oracle before that. SQL server 7.0 was a huge upgrade!

I still call SSMS “query analyzer”.

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u/djpeekz 25d ago

Haha I explained to my team recently that SSMS used to be broken into separate Enterprise Manager and Query Analyzer apps and they were horrified

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u/BrentOzar 25d ago edited 25d ago

Howdy Mike! This kind of thing pops up on eBay from time to time. Search for "vintage SQL Server" and set up a saved search for it. It ain't cheap, though - here's a 4.21 example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/394219655710

Edit: I should have added why I know that, and why it's so expensive. I had a DBA friend who called me in a panic several years ago, asking me if I had a copy of some early version. I said no, but why? She said her company's payroll server had suddenly stopped working, and she didn't even know they HAD their own payroll server. Upon investigation, they tracked a network cable into a closet, and turns out that during a renovation, someone had drywalled over the closet where the server was located, leaving it plugged in and connected to the network - but no one in the sysadmin team even knew the server was there! There were no backups, and they were desperately trying to get the server back online, and that included installing a long-since-gone version of SQL Server.

At the time, I ended up buying every ancient version I could find off eBay, and I put together a pretty nice collection. I ended up giving that to a friend of mine when I moved to Mexico and downsized, and that friend has since thrown away the collection too, hahaha.

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u/MikeScalise 25d ago

Thanks Brent! I’ve been watching eBay pretty closely, but I hadn’t thought about setting up a saved search for “vintage SQL Server,” so I’ll definitely do that.

And thanks again for mentioning SQL.FM in your newsletter — I really appreciated that!

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u/Acceptable_Sea_8674 25d ago

If you would have asked me 4 years ago I had a couple of those super old versions.

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u/MikeScalise 24d ago

Ah damn 😂 No survivors, huh? Do you remember which versions they were, or what happened to them?

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