Insert only the "deleted" record into the "pending deletes" table. You can then periodically bcp out the table, back up/archive the bcp file, and finally truncate the "pending deletes"...

No, the N'string' is not necessary. It's a carry-over from the Query Analyzer template that I've never bothered to remove. The conversion will obviously take place without it...

How large are the transaction logs for each of those databases?

The following excerpt from BOL may apply:

Note During a full database or differential backup, Microsoft® SQL Server™...

DBCC CHECKDB with the REPAIR_REBUILD does not repair all possible problems, such as correcting allocation errors, structural row or page errors, and deletion of corrupted text objects. For those...

DBCC INDEXDEFRAG runs in all of my databases, but as you pointed out it is not supported for use on system tables. It does not cause my Agent job...

Honestly, we use very few DTS packages. In almost all cases, the ETL operations are either coded in the application layer or in stored procedures.

Another suggestion would be to...

There is another thread discussing the same topic. Basically, you'll need to either:

1) Drop the index on any of the computed columns in your database(s).

2) Stop using maintenance plans....

I have not run into this issue previously and use linked servers extensively. By chance, are your servers using DHCP rather than a static IP address? I would...

As Andy suggested, you may issue the following query to retrieve the view script, provided that it was created without the ENCRYPTION attribute:

SELECT [text] FROM syscomments WHERE OBJECT_NAME([id]) = 'YourViewName'

...

I use XMail to great success for a number of SQLMail installations (where I too am unable to utilize an Exschange server). It has been in use for over...

You can issue the following query to view all the indexes and statistics within a database:

SELECT OBJECT_NAME([id]) AS 'TableName',

...

I don't believe it requires the SQL Server Agent account to be a member of the local Administrators group. I do believe you can utilize a non-administrator account with...

As an FYI, the Query Optimizer leans heavily towards the execution plan that results in the least amount of time to complete. That may be at the expense of...

Beware using TRUNCATE TABLE as that is a non-logged operation.

Knowing what the hardware (particularly number of processors, processor speed, and memory available to SQL) would help in judging whether that...

SQL Profiler and the Index Tuning Wizard.

With SQL Profiler, you can capture long running queries to concentrate on first, or you could do a general capture for feeding the Index...