A command-line SQL Server install failed: Validation for setting ‘AGTSVCACCOUNT’ failed, the RPC server is unavailable. I read the setup log and found the fix.
SQL Server emergency? Email pinal@sqlauthority.com with URGENT in the subject line.
SQL SERVER – Installation Error: The Specified Value ‘Install’ for ACTION is Invalid
A client’s command-line SQL Server install failed with: The specified value ‘Install’ for ACTION is invalid. Here is what the setup log showed and how to fix it.
Backup Error 3636: An Error Occurred While Processing BackupMetadata
Backup error 3636 appeared on a log backup taken on an availability group secondary after a log file was added on the primary. The secondary had not replayed the change. This post shows the queries I use to compare file lists and redo progress, tested on SQL Server 2025.
SQL SERVER – Backup to URL – Script to Perform Striped Backup using Shared Access Signature (SAS)
A reader wanted a striped backup to Azure Blob Storage. Here is my script to take a striped Backup to URL across several files using a SAS token credential.
SQL SERVER – Backup to URL – Script to Generate Credential and Backup using Shared Access Signature (SAS)
Backup to URL can connect to Azure storage with a SAS token. I share a script that generates the credential and the backup command using a Shared Access Signature.
Msg 3292 in SQL Server: Failure Executing Backup or Restore With a URL Device
Msg 3292 appears when a backup or restore with a URL device fails, and it never names the cause itself. In one 2018 client case the cause was a renamed BackupToUrl.exe. This post shows how to read the companion messages, check the helper file and the credential, and trace the failure.
How to Convert Hex Windows Error Codes to the Meaningful Error Message – 0x80040002 and 0x80040005 and others? – Interview Question of the Week #182
Seen hex error codes like 0x80070070 in the ERRORLOG? Here are the simple steps I use to convert hex Windows error codes into meaningful error messages.
SQL Server slow? Let's fix it together in about four hours.
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.