Error 10054,
Cannot connect remotely to SQL Server Express Win 11, A network-related or instance-specific error

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
A network-related or instance-specific error occurred while establishing a connection to SQL Server. The server was not found or was not accessible. Verify that the instance name is correct and that SQL Server is configured to allow remote connections. (provider: SQL Network Interfaces, error: 26 - Error Locating Server/Instance Specified) (Microsoft SQL Server, Error: -1)

Got the same issue on a Windows 11 computer trying to connect to an old SQL 2005 DB. It looks like some ciphers are disabled on Windows 11 and prevent the connection with the Database.

Solution

In Powershell (as admin) after running the following command, I could connect to the DB. Hope this helps.

Enable-TlsCipherSuite -Name "TLS_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA"

Copy and paste the above command in powershell, it will work for you.

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