Program connecting to SQL over port 445

I have a program called VHI(Visual Health Information - Network Version) that is a server/client model. I have installed the server portion and has a database. SQL Server Name\instance = "EDSERV03\VHI_PCKITS" with database called "pckits". The client application is also installed on the server and it opens and works fine. Now I install the application on a client computer and it stuck on Verifying database version... with an error code in the log:

    OLE DB Error Record dump for hr = 0x80004005

Error Location line = 120, file = 'sqldb.cpp'

Source:"Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server"
Description:"[DBNETLIB][ConnectionOpen (Connect()).]SQL Server does not exist or access denied."
Help File:"(null)"
Help Context:   0
GUID:{0C733A8B-2A1C-11CE-ADE5-00AA0044773D}

Looking into Wireshark Wireshark connection failed with STATUS_BAD_NETWORK_NAME

It looks like it is trying to connect to a network share \\EDSERV03\VHI_PCKITS which is the SQL instance. So, I tried creating a network share of that share name to the pckits.mdf data folder and ran the connection again. Wireshark image after creating a share path

It looks like it may work if I could somehow put the share path directly on the sql instance to use named piping? However I could not find how to do that and if that's even possible. This company is no longer in business and I'm running out of ideas.

The "SQL Server does not exist or access is denied" error is unrelated to the presence or absence of a \\EDSERV03\VHI_PCKITS share.

Assuming your issue is the "does not exist" half of the error message, check the following things:

• From the client computer, make sure you can resolve EDSERV03 to an IP address.
• Make sure the SQL instance is configured to accept TCP connections.
• Make sure any firewall between the client and the server is allowing UDP 1434 (so the client can find out what port the named instance is using, via the SQL Browser service) and whatever TCP port the VHI_PCKITS instance is using.