Finding an official ISO today can be difficult because Microsoft prioritizes newer versions like SQL Server 2022. 1. Visual Studio Subscriptions (Formerly MSDN) This is the most reliable and legal source. Log in to visualstudio.com . Search for "SQL Server 2012 Developer." Download the ISO directly from the subscriber portal. 2. Microsoft Evaluation Center Microsoft occasionally archives older versions here. Check the Evaluation Center .

To install the Developer Edition from an ISO, you must mount the image and run setup.exe .