Audit CONTROL SERVER and impersonation grants alongside sysadmin and role inheritance, test effective rights, and remove excess access.
SQL SERVER – Fix: Sqllib error: OLEDB Error encountered calling IDBInitialize::Initialize. hr = 0x80004005. SQLSTATE: 08001, Native Error: 17
A Sqllib error with hr = 0x80004005 and Native Error 17 says SQL Server does not exist or access denied. The simple fix is to enable TCP-IP in Configuration Manager.
Checking the Update History of an Instance
Reconstruct SQL Server update history from Setup Bootstrap logs, startup error logs, and the current build when no patch ledger exists.
SQL SERVER – Script to Determine Which Version of SQL Server 2000-2005 is Running
A quick way to see which version of SQL Server 2000 or 2005 is running: SERVERPROPERTY returns the product version, the product level and the edition.
SQL SERVER – QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON/OFF and ANSI_NULL ON/OFF Explanation
What do SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER and SET ANSI_NULLS do around every stored procedure you create? A plain explanation of both settings, ON and OFF.
SQL SERVER – Delete Duplicate Records – Rows
A short query to delete duplicate records from a table with an identity column: keep the MAX(ID) in each group of duplicate columns and remove the rest.
WINDOW: Reuse an Explicit Running-Total Frame
WINDOW lets me name a window definition and reuse it across compatible calculations. I still specify the partition, ordering and frame. A short name should make the intended calculation easier to review.