Compare one fingerprint instead of twenty columns. I show a safe HASHBYTES recipe, the NULL trap that fools CONCAT_WS, and a load that touches only the rows that changed.
SQL Server emergency? Email pinal@sqlauthority.com with URGENT in the subject line.
Smiley in SSMS: Show Emoji in Results and Database Names
To show a smiley in SSMS, type the emoji inside an N-prefixed string and run the query. This post explains how SQL Server stores each emoji as two characters, why two different emoji can compare as equal, and how to find them in a column. It also shows what happens when an emoji is part of a database name.
AUTOGROW_ALL_FILES: What Replaced Trace Flags 1117 and 1118
AUTOGROW_ALL_FILES and MIXED_PAGE_ALLOCATION replaced trace flags 1117 and 1118, which once made tempdb grow its files together and use whole extents. This post checks the flags on a server, reads the settings that replaced them and demonstrates both on a demo database. It also says what to do with a startup parameter that still names them.
Error 15580: Cannot Drop Master Key Because a Dialog Is Encrypted by It
Error 15580 says SQL Server cannot drop the master key because a dialog is encrypted by it. A reader hit it after following my Always On post. Leftover entries in sys.conversation_endpoints were the cause, and a key regeneration cleared them.
Listing Objects Changed Since the Last Release With modify_date
modify_date shows what changed after a release, but never what was dropped. Here is a small baseline trick that fills the gap.
Error 17138: Not Enough Memory to Start SQL OS Boot
Error 17138 stopped SQL Server from starting on a server with close to 2 TB of RAM after a client added trace flag 834 for large pages. The large page allocation failed during memory manager initialization. Check max server memory and restart the operating system.
How to Forecast the Size of Restore of Backup in SQL Server? – Interview Question of the Week #265
Question: How to Forecast the Size of Restore of Backup in SQL Server?
Answer: Recently, I had discussed this in consulting engagement:
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