Installing SQL Server 2016 failed with “Unable to open Windows Installer file” and error -2147286960. Here is what caused it and how I fixed the setup.
How to List All the SQL Server Jobs When Agent is Disabled? – Interview Question of the Week #171
When SQL Server Agent is disabled, you cannot expand it in SSMS to see its jobs. Here is how to list all the SQL Server Jobs with a simple query instead.
SQL SERVER – Service Pack Failure: MissingRegistryKeyException. The Registry Key is Missing
A reader hit MissingRegistryKeyException during a service pack, but my earlier fix did not help. Here is another cause of the missing registry key and the fix.
ENCRYPTBYPASSPHRASE: Simple Encryption and Its Weak Spot
One function in, one function out, and then the real question: where does the passphrase live? A short tour with demos you can run.
PowerShell – Get Maximum Memory of Server with dbatools
Readers asked how to get started with dbatools. Here is a simple first step: finding the maximum memory of a server with one PowerShell command.
PowerShell – How to Install dbatools?
dbatools installs as a PowerShell module on a Windows management machine. Rob Sewell, known as DBA with Beard, introduced me to it.
Transaction Log Backups Based on Log Size
Transaction log backups on a schedule can miss a burst of activity that fills the disk. This post builds a procedure that reads the log written since the last backup and takes a log backup once it passes a limit you choose. It also explains why the old habit of shrinking the log after each backup does harm.