Thanks for all the input!

Ellis, I've used the right click generate scripts method quite often. In this case I needed something automated.

Greg, the Transfer SQL Server Objects task in...

Thank you for doing the leg work on this!

MDFs and LDFs are on separate RAID5 SAN drives.  There are no other files on these drives.  All servers have the same configuration and reside on the same SAN.  Backups...

Thanks for the advice.

• No blocking
• The table only has one index which is the PK on an int identity column
• No foreign keys
• Databases are set to grow 10% and the amount of data...

How is the text log file being created?  If it's from the Advanced section of the job step, you could simply check "Log to table" as well.  In your final...

I think Rudy has some great ideas that deserve investigation.  Most networks and most database systems have one thing in common... change.  Just because everything was running smooth a year...

When setting @sql2, append @criteria... set @sql2 = ']' + ', NextLevel = case ' + @criteria. 

You also have Count in your insert statement.  I think you want...

I'm interested in seeing what others recommend, but I think there are several approaches.  One approach is to give sysadmin rights at the server level and db_owner rights at the...

There is a small script that you would need to run on the SQL 2000 server to allow a remote call from SQL 2005.  Calling SQL 2005 from SQL 2000...

One possible cause to the long running job is blocking.  It may have been waiting for a resource for the majority of the time. 

This could be extremely difficult to debug...

If you set a maximum file size, eventually you will run out of space.... unless of course you are doing transaction log backups.

Check books online for "Backing Up and Restoring...

If you change it in Enterprise Manager I don't think it requires you to know the old password.

  You guys are hilarious.  I'm trying to *avoid* downtime.

Actually, I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the max server memory setting. ...

Hmmm... it helps but it's not what I wanted to hear.  And it is what I assumed... I was hoping that there was a silver bullet that I was thinking. ...

Ok, I've made some progress on this so I figured I'd share.  Setting max server memory does not put a cap on sql's memory usage as one might guess.  It...