Hi.

Whatever method you try it won't be as accurate as actually connecting to the database, so why not just do it. Apart from all the issues listed above there are sometimes issues like the archiver hanging which mean that the DB us up and running but you can't use it etc. All the tests you try will not guarantee that a user trying to connect will be able to unless you actually test using a connection yourself.

What is the reason for not using a test connection?

Cheers