Unable to Access Lab PBIX File

vinyork123 0 Reputation points
2026-04-05T07:32:34.6633333+00:00

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Screenshot 2026-04-05 172553

Dear Microsoft Support Team,

I am currently following the instructions in the Microsoft Learn lab to open the .pbix file. However, I have encountered an issue:

I followed the instructions to open the lab .pbix file, but the lab environment did not recognize or load the downloaded file. Please see the attached screenshot for reference.

I also tried opening the downloaded file externally on my own computer, and it opens successfully. Please see the first attached screenshot.

Could you kindly advise how to resolve this issue? Currently, I cannot proceed to the next step in the lab because I cannot access the file within the lab environment.

Thank you for your assistance.

Best regards,

Gigi

This question is related to the following Learning Module

Microsoft 365 and Office | Other
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  1. AI answer

    2026-04-05T07:32:53.6533333+00:00

    The screenshots show two separate issues:

    1. The lab VM can’t see the downloaded .pbix file.
    2. Inside the .pbix, the SQL connection to localhost;AdventureWorksDW2020 fails.

    Use these steps to align with the PL‑300 lab setup so the file opens and connects correctly inside the lab environment.

    1. Download and place the lab files inside the lab VM
      1. In the browser inside the lab VM, open the PL‑300 lab GitHub repository and download the lab resources ZIP as instructed in the setup guide.
      2. Extract the ZIP to D:\Allfiles (this path is required by the lab scripts).
      3. Confirm that the .pbix file (for example, 02-Starter-Sales Analysis.pbix) is located under D:\Allfiles or the folder specified in the lab instructions.
      4. In Power BI Desktop on the lab VM, use File > Open, browse to D:\Allfiles\..., and open the .pbix from there. Avoid using a file that was downloaded on the local (non‑lab) machine, because the lab VM cannot see that local Downloads folder.
    2. Ensure the SQL Server lab instance is installed and running The error DataSource.Error: Microsoft SQL: A network-related or instance-specific error occurred... DataSourcePath=localhost;AdventureWorksDW2020 indicates that the SQL Server instance required by the lab is not available in the lab environment. Follow the PL‑300 lab setup steps on the lab VM:
      1. Install SQL Server Database Engine (Developer edition) on the lab VM, as described in the lab setup guide.
      2. During installation, accept the default instance or create the instance that the lab expects (used as localhost).
      3. Restore or attach the AdventureWorksDW2020 database using the scripts or backup files provided in the AllFilesDownload package.
      4. After installation, verify that the SQL Server service is running and that the database AdventureWorksDW2020 exists.
      5. In Power BI Desktop on the lab VM, open the .pbix from D:\Allfiles again. The connection string localhost;AdventureWorksDW2020 should now succeed.
    3. If using an existing SQL Server instead of the lab instance If a different SQL Server instance is used, update the connection string in Power BI Desktop to point to that instance name instead of localhost, as allowed by the lab setup guidance.

    Once the .pbix file is opened from the correct folder on the lab VM and the SQL Server instance with AdventureWorksDW2020 is available, the lab steps (including opening Power Query Editor) should work as described.

    References:

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