Had to upgrade SQL Server Express 2008 to R2 because of the 10GB limitation on SQLEE. Upgrading seemed easier than I expected, from what I read all I need to do is select maintenance during setup and select upgrade. SQL Server Express had to be upgraded my vCenter that was being used for a VDI PoC.

UPDATE:

upgrade went far smoother than expected. Upgraded the SQL instance, restarted Agent and SQL Service. DONE.

vCenter started up fine with no problems.

I love easy solutions.

now i can finally move forward with the VDI PoC.