Once the SQL Agent logs have scrolled off -- that is, been renamed as SQLAGENT.1, ~.2, etc., by SQL Server -- you can just go into Windows and delete them....

Verify the logical file names are what you expect them to be.

USE <your_db_name>

EXEC sp_helpfile

--Or: EXEC <your_db_name>.dbo.sp_helpfile

The first column will show the logical file name, which, of course, must match what...

The need for the end user to define columns (not fields) might just be the most obvious evidence of a bad design....

Do you have an example where such a...

That physical file copy thing's not looking so bad now, is it? :-):-)

SQL 2005 is different from either.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms144259(SQL.90).aspx

1. Insert the SQL Server 2005 installation media into the disk drive.

2. Use the following syntax:

start /wait <CD or DVD Drive>\setup.exe /qn INSTANCENAME=<InstanceName> REINSTALL=SQL_Engine REBUILDDATABASE=1...

Excellent point.

For SQL 2008, you must do run:

setup.exe /QUIET /ACTION=REBUILDDATABASE /INSTANCENAME=instance_name

/SQLSYSADMINACCOUNTS= accounts [/SAPWD=password]

If in Mixed mode, specify the /SAPWD; if Windows/Authenticated only, leave it off.

Have to admit I...

First, make a copy of the existing master data file(s) and log file (in Windows, not a SQL BACKUP). You may be able to read some data out of...

I've read the whole thread. Very interesting discussion.

But I don't understand the claim that "Optimistic Locking" has no overhead.

What about all those rollback/undo errors in Oracle? Oh those...

Excellent point!

Interesting. TRUNCATE doesn't fire triggers, so I wouldn't think a trigger would be causing the partial DELETEs.

Is this the actual table that is being TRUNCATEd, or somehow is it...

Why do you keep referring back to the "ancient" SQL 2000 views?

MS itself tells you they're not reliable for SQL 2005 and SQL 2008.

Exactly: the orphaned ones will not show up in the GUI, so you can't delete them there, but you can DROP them using the T-SQL commands.

Please include the exact sp_dropuser command you used and the results of SELECT * FROM sys.database_principals as well.

The user account can't be used to access data.

But you should be able to drop the user account from the db.

What error message do you get when you try to...

Hmm, that's a difficult issue. With what you're doing that won't be easy.

I thought earlier about creating a full-text index across the "notes" column. In theory that could...