SQL Server 2008: Cannot establish a connection. Verify the server and instance names, check that no firewall is blocking UDP traffic to port 1434, and for SQL Server 2005 or later verify that the SQL Server Browser Service is running on the host

I was getting the error:

Cannot establish a connection to jdbc:sqlserver://FEMPUTADORA-PC\SQLEXPRESS;databaseName=pichincha using com.microsoft.sqlserver.jdbc.SQLServerDriver (The connection to the host FEMPUTADORA-PC, named instance sqlexpress has failed. Error: "java.net.SocketTimeoutException: Receive timed out". Verify the server and instance names, check that no firewall is blocking UDP traffic to port 1434, and for SQL Server 2005 or later verify that the SQL Server Browser Service is running on the host.)

I solved it by enabling the SQL server browser:
1. Go to "start" > "contro panel" > "systems and security" > "administrative tools" > "services"
2. Right click in "SQL server browser" > propeties
3. Set Start up type as "automatic"
4. click on "start"
5. click on "ok"