This month's discount Comprehensive Database Performance Health Check Testimonials
SQLAuthority with Pinal Dave
Home

MYSQL – Could not Drop Object [Content] (‘Cannot delete or update a parent row: a foreign key constraint fails’, 1217) DROP DATABASE DatabaseName

Pinal Dave
SQL Tips and Tricks
1 Comment

If you are using MySQL following, you must have faced following error when you want to drop a table or database. This error happens when we try to drop a table or database which has a foreign key constraint associated with another table, schema or database. MySQL reports it as error 1217, saying a foreign key constraint fails.

Could not Drop Object [Content] (‘Cannot delete or update a parent row: a foreign key constraint fails’, 1217) DROP DATABASE DatabaseName

Could not drop object dialog.

Here is a simple workaround to this problem. Disable the keys right before you drop a table or a database. Remember to practice this on the database which you are confident to drop it.

SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS=0;
DROP DATABASE humanresources;
DROP TABLE MyTable;
SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS=1;

Let me know if you are using any method for this purpose.

Published by Pinal Dave on SQLAuthority. More of my work at pinaldave.com.

MySQL, SQL Error Messages
Previous Post
Idempotent Deployment Scripts: Safe to Run Twice
Next Post
SSMS Keyboard Shortcuts Worth Learning

Related Posts

1 Comment. Leave new

  • Jerry L. Cutshaw
    February 3, 2014 8:44 pm

    Hello Pinal. I’m a veteran SQL Server DBA that wants to branch out into MySQL. Any suggestions where I might find some tutorials geared toward SQL Server vets?

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Please enter a valid email address.

SQL Server slow? Let's fix it together in about four hours.

Pinal Dave

In my Comprehensive Database Performance Health Check, you share your screen, I guide you, and we fix your biggest performance troublemakers. No passwords. No remote access.

You keep every script, and the know-how to fix it yourself next time.

Want your whole team to learn it?

My Practical Workshop has no PowerPoint, just live demos. My AI Enablement Workshop shows your team where AI saves hours, and where it quietly costs them.

Over 400 customers have worked with me this way, and not one shared a password. See all consulting options.

Who We Are

Pinal Dave is an SQL Server Performance Tuning Expert and independent consultant with over 24 years of hands-on experience. He holds a Masters of Science degree and numerous database certifications.

Pinal has authored 19 books and 120 Pluralsight courses. To freely share his knowledge and help others build their expertise, Pinal has also written more than 5,800 database tech articles on his blog at https://blog.sqlauthority.com.

Pinal is also a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer (CF-L1) and CrossFit Level 2 Trainer (CF-L2).

Nupur Dave is a social media enthusiast and an independent consultant. She primarily focuses on the database domain, helping clients build short and long-term multi-channel campaigns to drive leads for their sales pipeline.

Shaivi Pinalkumar Dave is a book author and a women’s artistic gymnast.