Why are my MS SQL databases not listed in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or Visual Studio? Print

Your databases are not missing

If SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) connects successfully but shows only System Databases (master and tempdb), your databases are still there and your websites and applications are not affected.

This comes from a security change Plesk, our control panel vendor, made in version 18.0.82, which was applied to our servers on October 28, 2026. Database logins can no longer list the databases on the server, so other customers cannot see your database names and you cannot see theirs.

SSMS has a limitation here: it does not show a database in Object Explorer without that permission, even a database your login can open. Entering the database name under Options > Connection Properties does not change this. Plesk describes this as expected behavior in its own knowledge base article, MSSQL user cannot see databases in SQL Server Management Studio on Plesk for Windows (Plesk reference PPP-68783).

Work with your database in SSMS

1. In the Connect to Server window, enter your server name, choose SQL Server Authentication, enter your database login and password, and click Connect.
2. Click New Query.
3. Type USE [mysite_mydb]; with your database name, and click Execute.
4. Run your queries in that window. To list your tables, run SELECT name FROM sys.tables;

Browse your database with another tool

Plesk reports that this limitation is specific to SSMS. The MSSQL extension for Visual Studio Code and HeidiSQL are not affected, so you can use either of them to browse your tables. Enter your database name when you set up the connection.

If you have more than one database

Use a separate query window for each database, with its own USE statement. The login must be attached to that database.

Where to find your database name, login and server

• Log in to Plesk and open Websites & Domains > Databases. This lists your databases.
• User Management on the same page shows which login can open which database.
• Use the server the database is on: sql2022-001.adaptivewebhosting.com,1433 for SQL Server 2022, or sql2025-001.adaptivewebhosting.com,1433 for SQL Server 2025. A login only exists on the server where it was created.

If you get an error when connecting

• "Login failed for user" (error 18456): check the login and password, and that you are connecting to the right server. You can reset the password yourself in Plesk under User Management. Repeated failed logins can block your IP address automatically, so please check the details before trying again.
• "The server principal ... is not able to access the database" after running USE: the database name is misspelled, or the login is not attached to that database. Check both in Plesk under Databases > User Management.

Can this setting be turned off for my account?

No. Removing it would show your login the database names of every other customer on the server. Your login keeps the same access to your own database.