indiegirl

It pays to grumble... here's the solution to shrinking the ldf file: Query Analyzer time (best done with the sa login and password, but guess what I don't have??? - so done with Administrator): on the SIMS database, execute the following query: backup log sims with no_log dbcc shrinkdatabase (sims, 0) 105Gb free, ldf file now 1mb. Backup time!!!!!

Man, I love Capita: "Dear Zoe, this is the solution for your problem: Windows Scripting Host (WSH) is not running. Enable this and re-run the backup" Don't make me laugh Capita....

Aye, Capita were my first port of call. As a non-trained SIMS bod, I'm not going anywhere near stopping and starting services. I could, but at the very least, this is well out of the remit of my 'IT Technician' role, and I will not be held responsible for any problems as a result. Interestingly, Capita told me that they're not supporting 7.62 any more - they asked if I was doing an upgrade (foolishly I said no, and confirmed the lowly version), then argued that I would do an upgrade, but I'd still have the same disk space issue and backup problems! I think that my rather fraught tone made them try and get to the supportdesk.... ... who were all busy. So, I'm waiting on a call back. I am going to go through the roof to my line manager about this one....

Noooo, that's my old school where I'm hoping to return. But the head here will certainly be informed. I've come up with a problem. You can't change the backup path... and I only have 1.2gb spare.... I'm going to try it with the 1.2gb... It fails...telling me that I don't have enough space to backup (I have 1258mb, need 134541mb!) Jeeps! What now? Can I move that ldf file?

Don't even mention FMS! I'm more and more worried as this thread goes on!

*bangs head on desk repeatedly* This is really serious, isn't it? I mean, I might joke and laugh about this, but no proper full backups, and no upgrades... I feel like I'm toeing an extremely fine line here with this, am now currently praying that it won't fall over and die and we lose data... Right, I have my plan in place (I'm a girl who likes to plan): 3pm - run SIMS backup through sys manager - redirect output to a.n.other drive. Ensure that backup completes successfully. If not, ring Capita and stress. 8am - log into Sims, SQL server, etc - check that darn ldf file - call Capita if it's still problematic. Then, meet line manager for debriefing and stress the situation. Poss knock up an incident report and email it to SMT if I deem that suitable. This has been a rather interesting day... rather like having someone unravel a very large ball of wool, then drop it and leave me to pick it all up.

OK, I've also just been reading (in anticipation of problems) paulsharpe's thread on backup problems here. Dare I try the shrinkdblog.bat file first??

Oh I will stop... when I'm in my notice period :-D Well, tonight is the telling time I guess. I take it that I can run the backup tonight and, er, run?! ;-) (do I have to supervise it?) Are they lengthy? SYSMAN... you should tell all...... some I know, but I hope there's more that I don't ;-)

omg, me too... That said, there is one backup in the backup list after a patch, that was from December (would that have been a full backup though?). The rest, I "tidied" away earlier at the suggestion of Capita. I really hope that this backup can sort out this ldf file.. (on the subject of backups, when I arrived here, the school system backup policy was for him to put it in when he remembered. I organised and setup Veritas with a daily & monthly backup schedule and reminded him of this. When I've been away, despite telling him what tapes to use, I get back to cancelled backups and the tape drive empty...)

I've got enough space to get SIMS open now so I can get into Sysman. I will run a backup as I leave tonight, and see if that changes / reduces the .ldf file and we'll go from there. If that doesn't reduce the .ldf file, I think I might phone the font of knowledge that is Capita tomorrow and request a formal answer to this ldf reduction...

Yeah, suppose it will take a bit more, just going on the size of the backups we generate - typically 320Mb from a 1.2Gb database. dbattach generates .zip files though, not bak files afaik. Can I redirect the output to another folder... will it allow me to do that - then move it back, or is SIMS gonna get very grumpy with me?

I think that sounds about right. No backups, no updates... 8O I've told senior mgt that he's incompetent, they know he's incompetent but have told me: "unless he does something catastrophic, we don't have any grounds to sack him" (i could run a whole forum on the grounds I have for sacking him. I once got sacked myself, for exactly what I still don't know - my termination letter never said (i wasn't there a year so a loophole in the law was exercised). Having been sacked, it infuriates me that someone so incompetent is allowed to remain. Not that I really mind.. a couple of months at the most and I shall be gone from here, back to my old place... and back to a SIMS that works (although they want to move to Pearson's E1...)

Only through my own inadequacies! I think, knowing the NM as I do, that he may not have run any updates at all... I've just explained the situation to our line manager, who, as usual, doesn't appear to care as long as SIMS is working. Thanks guys for all your thoughts, one day (in the future) I'll make NM. I document everything I do (and everything he doesn't, hahaha), so I'll store this one for future ref.

Indeed, the NM is in India, on a month-long holiday. I am the sole IT rep, which whilst this is good for my learning curve, it's not great for my stress levels. I'd say that he planned for this to happen, *if* I had the confidence that he knew what he was doing. I'm in two minds over what to do, whether to run the backup and see if that sorts it, or whether to, ahem, just leave it in the hope that we can run with it for a few more months (by which time I think I'll have left this place and gone back to my old school).. and then hope it falls over again... big style :-D Of course, as I'm conscientious and have identified the fault, I'll fix it, even though I don't want to ;-)

NetworkGeezer: pedantic, but excused. My error! I think my brain was working on the age-old Access DBs and their 'lock' files :oops: Let's see... I am running...... 7.62, build 8, DB build 3.61.198 I couldn't honestly tell you if the NM has ever backed SIMS.net up... I'm very, very worried now...

For all the use it was this morning, yes, we do... I thought that was what it did.. attaches, backs up and resets the lock file... hopefully! I'm confused as well, a lock file should only be the size (or slightly bigger?) of it's main db file, I'm sure.. Shall I ring Capita and tell them that I have a 800mb mdf file and a 110Gb lock file and see what they say, just for a laugh?!

In that case, I'll run it tonight before I go home. The chances of getting any of this lot out of SIMS now (given that they couldn't log in until -shock- 8.30am) is nigh on impossible... One thing - what does it actually *do*? What's the purpose of a DBAttach? Many thanks.. where would I be without this place? In a gibbering heap on the floor on hold at Capita, methinks...

You absolute gems. I'm assuming that this is safe to do with users on the system??

I'm really, really going to show my lack of knowledge here and ask if I have to run that from the command line on our SQL server? (sorry!)

the mdf is 812mb, bit different to the 110gb ldf! I haven't got a clue how to reduce the size of the ldf. I suspect it's got this big because the NM doesn't understand SIMS. Neither of us have been on any courses, etc.. and you only have to ask SYSMAN_MK as to how the current NM struggled when he took over in the school (SYSMAN_MK used to be the NM here until a couple of years ago). We were running CSE stuff until the summer, and I wasn't involved in the transfer of SIMS onto the new SQL server they put in in May last year (I arrived here in July) - I suspect that stuff was just copied over in the vain hope it'd work.

Not really, removing the backups (there were only 6 in there anyway) apart from the last one gained me 1gb of space. This sims.ldf file has been written to today and is clearly in use daily.. I looked at it the other week wondering why it was so large. That MSSQL$SIMS folder - is that the backup one then? (apologies, I've never been allowed to 'touch' SIMS before, and it's only in the NM's absence that I'm in at the deep end)

The guy I spoke to seemed to assume we'd had the "february disk"! I thought that it was all done via Solus as well... Just found the culprit - in the following folder: Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL$SIMS\Data I have a SIMS.ldf file which is 110gb 8O

We have 116gb, of which currently 114.8gb is full 8O I got in this morning to a flood of phonecalls from people complaining that they couldn't log in - had a look at the server, 12mb free on the disk. No wonder they couldn't log in. Problem is, I can't find anything else to remove to create space - Capita were their usual helpful selves, suggesting that I tidy the backups up but "we can't suggest anything else that you can remove". Everything on the disk is SIMS related. The Capita guy mentioned something to me about using the February disk to re-create the setups folder, but I haven't got a clue if we've even received the February disk (it's probably in a big pile of envelopes on the NM's desk if we have). It'd only free up 200mb anyway. Anyone else had such problems in the past?

Oooh, good point. Looking into broadcast storms, I'm leaning towards that. Now, to find out if we have Spanning Tree enabled (highly unlikely)... Cheers!

Yep - forgot to mention that above. Checked the sharing name to make sure that it matched, also checked that the standard TCP/IP port was set to the correct IP - which it was...! I will delete and reinstall the printer and see if that makes a difference... ETA: That appears to be showing 'online' now, we'll see if it stays that way. I'm still having issues with machines not connecting to the network properly (had to reboot my switches earlier, as nothing was connecting...) - I wonder if it's related to that?