SQL Server Express Size limits depend on the engine release. The 2021 article 10 GB answer does not cover every current version.
Parallelism in Express Edition: What the Limits Mean
Parallelism in Express Edition has its own reason code in the execution plan. This post reads that reason, shows the settings that keep a plan serial on any edition, and tests the check on a demo table.
Free Edition Product Key: Developer, Express and Evaluation
A free edition product key tells SQL Server setup which free edition to install: Evaluation, Developer or Express. This post lists the three codes, shows how to pass one to an unattended install and how to check the edition afterwards. It also explains when an Evaluation instance ends.
Delete Old Backup Files in SQL Express with PowerShell
SQL Server Express has no SQL Server Agent, so nothing runs to delete old backup files and the disk slowly fills. This post gives a PowerShell script that removes backup files older than a set number of days, tests it with a dry run, refuses to delete when any backup type has no recent file, and shows how to schedule it with Task Scheduler.
SQL SERVER – SQL Express Installation Error – Wait on the Database Engine Recovery Handle Failed
A vendor’s installer failed because SQL Express would not install: Wait on the Database Engine recovery handle failed. Here is what the setup logs showed.
SQL SERVER – Express and SQL Server Agent – Free Alternative
Small Express database, big performance problems? Here is a free alternative that fills the gap between SQL Server Express and SQL Server Agent jobs.
SQL SERVER – Database Size Limitation in SQL Express
What is the database size limitation in SQL Express? A Q&A style post covering the size limit for each version, from SQL 2000 Desktop Engine onwards.