Although the import of shp files into SQL server can be frustrating, there are two simple processes that can be used assuming you have the shp2sql application.

1. Purchase ArcMap for Desktop which cost around $100US per licence per annum. Load the shapefile (eg roads.shp) into Arcmap and then save it as a data export giving it another name such as roadsA.shp, then using shp2sql import the later file into SQL.
2. Using QGIS (free) load the shapefile into QGIS, then using Layer/Save As... Type in a file name that you want to save the original shp to. Make sure your CRS is set to the correct zone. For some reason, I selected latin1 for Encoding. In Layer options select POLYGON as the SHPT type, or other options depending on what the shapefile is - polygon, line, point, etc. Select OK then use the shp2sql application.

Although the import of shapefiles into SQL Server can be frustrating, there are two simple processes that can be used assuming you have the shp2sql application.

1. Purchase ArcMap for Desktop which cost around $100US per licence per annum. Load the shapefile (eg roads.shp) into ArcMap and then save it as a data export giving it another name such as roadsA.shp, then using shp2sql import the later file into SQL.
2. Using QGIS (free) load the shapefile into QGIS, then using Layer/Save As... Type in a file name that you want to save the original shp to. Make sure your CRS is set to the correct zone. For some reason, I selected latin1 for Encoding. In Layer options select POLYGON as the SHPT type, or other options depending on what the shapefile is - polygon, line, point, etc. Select OK then use the shp2sql application.