Named Pipes Provider error (no replies)

I am just starting to learn SQL and C# programming with Visual Studio 2010 and mySQL. I have wrote a very simple form that links to my SQL Database and should write information to the database. When I try to save the data after filling in the form I am seeing:

"provider: Named Pipes Provider, error: 40 - Could not open a connection to SQL server"

anyone any ideas on how to fix this?

I am using mySQL server 5.5 if that makes any difference.