I keep on getting this error. I tried one solution from Stack Overflow (below), which did not work for me: SQL Exception while connecting to SQL server
I tried allowing port 1433 in the Windows firewall by using a link, that did not work either. Refer to section "To open a port in the Windows firewall for TCP access" http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms175043.aspx
com.microsoft.sqlserver.jdbc.SQLServerException: The TCP/IP connection to the host localhost, port 1433 has failed. Error: "Connection refused: connect. Verify the connection properties. Make sure that an instance of SQL Server is running on the host and accepting TCP/IP connections at the port. Make sure that TCP connections to the port are not blocked by a firewall.
Please help me to fix this problem.