You did a pretty good job posting details about your issue. It would be easier if you had created tables but from your description it is pretty simple.

create table #TableA

(

ID int identity primary key,

ProductXML varchar(max)

)

create table #TableB

(

ID int identity primary key,

ProductXML xml

)

What we can't see though is what does the existing data look like in TableA? Can you provide a few rows of sample data? I have an idea of what is wrong but once I see the original data I will know for sure.

FWIW, if you have XML (or any other datatype) that you intend to use as that datatype it is FAR better to use the appropriate datatype. If your original data was an XML datatype this wouldn't be an issue. 😛