What do the stats show you? Does it hang at the beginning? the end?

Likely the statistics for the Content column indicates the is might be enough rows with a '', that it's worth just scanning the table. Even if you think it's quicker...

It is scary, but requiring local access mitigates it a little. It's a back door that's designed this way, specifically for the people that forget SA or have a rouge...

Glad it's working.

Data types are important in SQL Server, and you were relying on some implicit conversion to match a date to a character. That doesn't always work, and it...

This is a merge issue, and I've had it happen with systems getting merged. Typically what you have to do is allow the new parent system to determine how data...

DAC and command prompt are not the same. DAC can be used from Management Studio. If you have it open when you start up the instance, connect with "Admin:" and...

Sorry, for the in place upgrade, things are fine.

For the side by side move to new hardware, sp_help_revlogin will let you script logins. Once you get the script and run...

The roles will be moved over as is. There are issues moving security to a new server, but for an in-place upgrade your logins will remain and they will map...

Did you start the SQL Server in Single user mode, and are you connecting with the DAC connection?

I usually have called myself the data janitor. Makes people laugh and disarms them a bit from the last DBA being too self-important.

Looks like 512GB right now is the high response. My friend had 1TB in a server, and was considering moving to 2TB as data sizes grow

There's no way to remove access from within the database. It's contained on the server, and the server determines access, as of SS2K8R2. If they are restoring the database, then...

My apologies. Points have been awarded back to the people that have answered and the question has been corrected.

How is the data coming in? Is this loaded through SSIS/bcp or is it in another table?

I would use Greg's statement to build the SQL I needed and then use...

Database Mail isn't a mail server. It has to route through Exchange or some other mail server to get to your inbox. The data is only stored in msdb long...