"Database login failed: Unable to initialize data dictionary"

This error is generic, very common and has multiple possible solutions.

It is received when a user attempts to login.

I will not list all the possible fixes for this error but I will include the most common solutions.

First of all, ensure that the SLXSYSTEM and SQL Instance services are running. To do this, open the RUN command and type 'services.msc' and press enter. Click on the NAME header to organise the services by alphabetical order and confirm that the 2 above services are listed as STARTED.


"In a SQL 2005 or SQL 2008 environment, the SQL Native Client must be installed on every computer running SalesLogix for database connectivity.  Because of the similarities between the different versions of SQL connectivity may be possible without the SQL Native Client; however, this is not a recommended configuration."

To ensure the native client is installed, open the Control Panel and go to either ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS (Windows XP) or PROGRAMS AND FEATURES (Vista/Windows 7). Scroll down the list and confirm that  'Microsoft SQL Server Native Client' is installed.

If using a firewall or antivirus, check to see that the SQL process' and ports are not being blocked as this can cause the error to appear.

Also adding the server name to the hosts file on the local machine has also helped me resolve this error in the past.

Hope this helps!