A free edition product key tells SQL Server setup which free edition to install: Evaluation, Developer or Express. This post lists the three codes, shows how to pass one to an unattended install and how to check the edition afterwards. It also explains when an Evaluation instance ends.
Remove Extra Log File in SQL Server: Fix Error 5042
To remove extra log file members, SQL Server needs the files to hold no active log. When one does, ALTER DATABASE REMOVE FILE fails with Msg 5042. This post builds a database with two log files, reproduces the error, shows which VLFs keep the file busy and frees it with log backups. It also explains why the file stays offline until the next log backup.
How to Solve Error When Transaction Log Gets Full? – Interview Question of the Week #272
Question: How to Solve Error When Transaction Log Gets Full?
Answer: This was a question I was asked in the recent Health Check.
SQL SERVER – Multiple Log Files to Your Databases – Not Needed
I was asked a very interesting question by their DBA about log files. The question was – Is there ever need of multiple log files in SQL Server?
Survey Answers: A Table Design for Questions and Responses
Store survey answers as typed rows instead of one column per question. Then break the design on purpose to see what it blocks and what it cannot.
KILL WITH STATUSONLY: How Long Will This Rollback Take?
Read KILL WITH STATUSONLY rollback estimates, confirm the target session, avoid repeated kills, and account for accelerated recovery.
Activity Monitor Keeps Freezing: Fix WMI and Permissions
When Activity Monitor keeps freezing, the cause can be a missing SQL permission or a missing WMI permission for the Windows account. This post tests the SQL side on SQL Server 2025, walks through the WMI security fix and explains what CIMV2 means. It also gives a query that reads the same activity without Activity Monitor.