Thanks for this post. I'm not a DBA - just owner of a few databases on our server. I just experienced this problem the other day - was working in SSMS in the morning, and then I get back from lunch, and kaboom - I couldn't connect through SSMS anymore! My DBA kept telling me "I can see that you're logged-in right now! - what do you mean you can't get in?", but none the less, SSMS kept telling me it couldn't connect... This is the only post I could find anywhere online, help, or my manuals (after 3 days of searching) that had an answer for this specific issue.

So now that I've just learned of the existence of SQL-Server's "5th" system database, I am curious - if nobody (generally) even knows about it, and it isn't a database that can be restored from backup, how does this kind of accident happen - dropping the public role's permission to stuff on this database? I mean, aside from somebody executing a drop statement on purpose... Have you seen this a lot?

Oh well - thanks again! I mean, work stoppage was nice while it lasted, but you know...:D

- dave