I was trying to teach copy-only backups to my students and encountered below error related to differential backup.
SQL Server emergency? Email pinal@sqlauthority.com with URGENT in the subject line.
SQL SERVER – Msg 3101, Level 16 – Exclusive Access Could not be Obtained Because the Database is in Use
RESTORE failed with Msg 3101: exclusive access could not be obtained because the database is in use. How to find who is connected and your options to fix it.
SQL SERVER – Management Studio Missing – SSMS 2014 not Installed with SQL Server 2014
SSMS 2014 not installed after a SQL Server 2014 setup? The Management Tools feature was never selected. Here is how the discovery report showed it.
How to Find Median in SQL Server? – Interview Question of the Week #116
There is no MEDIAN function in T-SQL. Here is an easy way to find median values in SQL Server 2012 and later, plus what median really means.
SQL SERVER – System. Security. Cryptography. CryptographicException – There Was an Error Generating the XML Document
SQL Server setup failed with an error generating the XML document. The real cause was DPAPI and a read-only domain controller, found in Summary.txt.
SQL SERVER – Error 33222, Level 16 – Audit ‘MyAudit’ Failed to Start
Error 33222 says only that the audit failed to start. Reproduced on SQL Server 2025: where the real reason hides, and why CREATE succeeded.
Grouping by query_hash to Find Cheap Queries That Cost the Most
Group cached statements by query_hash to find high total CPU and reads, compare plan hashes, and account for missing cache history.
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Pinal Dave is an SQL Server Performance Tuning Expert and independent consultant with over 24 years of hands-on experience. He holds a Masters of Science degree and numerous database certifications.
Pinal has authored 19 books and 125 Pluralsight courses. To freely share his knowledge and help others build their expertise, Pinal has also written more than 5,800 database tech articles on his blog at https://blog.sqlauthority.com.
Pinal is also a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer (CF-L1) and CrossFit Level 2 Trainer (CF-L2).
Nupur Dave is a social media enthusiast and an independent consultant. She primarily focuses on the database domain, helping clients build short and long-term multi-channel campaigns to drive leads for their sales pipeline.
Shaivi Pinalkumar Dave is a book author and a women’s artistic gymnast.

