NOLOCK is one of the most abused hints I see. In Notes from the Field #117, Stuart Ainsworth explains when Nolock makes sense and why overusing it is risky.
Generating Test Data That Behaves Like the Real Thing
Make test data generation reflect skew, row width, missing values, and key relationships so your SQL Server experiments expose realistic plan risks.
SQL SERVER – syspolicy_purge_history job failing step: Erase Phantom System Health Records
A client’s syspolicy_purge_history job kept failing at the step Erase Phantom System Health Records. Here is what the job does and how to fix the failure.
SQL SERVER – Setup Closed with Exit Code 0x80004005
Setup for SQL Server 2008 R2 SP3 closed with exit code 0x80004005 and wrote no summary log. Here is where to find sqlsetup.log in %TEMP% and what it showed.
Interview Question of the Week #061 – How to Retrieve SQL Server Configuration?
A common interview question: how do you retrieve SQL Server configuration? Right-click and Properties is not enough. Here is the better answer.
SQL SERVER – Exception Code c0000005 While Starting SQL Service
A reader’s SQL Server would not start and wrote no ERRORLOG. Starting it from the command prompt showed Exception Code c0000005. Here is how we found the cause.
SQL SERVER – Management Studio – Changing Status Bar Location
Color coding the SSMS status bar helps avoid mistakes, but on a big screen it is easy to miss at the bottom. Here is how to change the Status Bar Location.