SQL Server 2005!
Aug. 17th, 2006 12:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thewayneI am, by normal trade, a database programmer. I do relational database development and SQL Server administration, my normal tools of the trade are Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Access. It definitely behooves me to stay current on those two products.
Well, it turns out that I'd fallen a little behind the times with SQL Server. I thought there was a 2003 edition, turns out that it's a 2005 edition. But amongst the many things that Microsoft does that aren't cool, there's one thing they do that is supremely cool: they sell a Developer's Edition of SQL Server 2005 for $50. And it isn't no wimped-down little version: it's a copy of the Enterprise Edition. EVERY feature that SQL Server has available is included with this set, so there are no restrictions on what you can do with it, as long as you're in a development environment.
For $50, it's a great tool to learn a system!
I installed it on my laptop last Friday. I go to open the database manager to do some putzing about and looking at the new features, and it won't start. So apparently somehow I managed to screw up the installation. I was going to install it on my work computer the following Monday, but that didn’t happen – a virus/worm outbreak pretty much preempted the day.
So Friday evening I get home and fire up my desktop. By having it on both machines, I can practice replication and other fun things! I turn off the Ethernet adapter so that the computer is no longer talking to the internet, then turn off my firewall and Spybot Teatimer (a registry protector – highly recommended!). With those off, once I start installing SQL Server, I won’t have an endless series of messages that I have to sit there and acknowledge as various programs try to install themselves and Teatimer and Zone Alarm scream that programs are installing! And I start installing SQL Server.
Once all of the configuration questions are answered, SQL Server will be off and playing with itself for a considerable period of time. Thus I turn my attention to more important things: dinner for me! Two Hebrew National Franks into boiling water, a can of Bush beanless chili into a small can, and in ten minutes I have two chili dogs with Heinz Organic Ketchup and French’s Mustard. SQL Server is still chugging away, I expect it to take 30-60 minutes. It’s now 9:45pm+, so I’m off to the living room to watch tv: South Park is due at 10:00 and it’s an episode that is new to me.
At 9:55pm the power goes out.
The conclusion of the woe to follow.
My computer is not on a UPS.
Needless to say the SQL Server installation is utterly hosed.
The power came back on, but it wasn’t at full voltage. And that can be worse for your equipment than a spike. I yanked the power plug from my desktop and turned off the two surge strips and pretty much went to bed.
Power was out for about two hours, or at least that’s what I estimated by the clock on the stove when I got up the next morning. I powered up my desktop PC, and sure enough, it had been upgraded to the Pentium Molasses and was just not doing well. I couldn’t get the Ethernet interface turned on because the system was behaving so badly, so I decided that I really didn’t feel like messing with it and turned it off, I left it for Sunday.
My wireless router was fine, so my wife and I had no problems accessing email and such. And uninstalling and reinstalling SQL Server on my much slower laptop (I remember when I went from an 8 MHz PC to a 12 MHz AT and THAT was fast!) took pretty much all day, and at the end of it, I had a working installation of SQL Server! Except then I had to install the patches. Microsoft has already released Service Pack 1 for 2005 along with a handful of other patches, and that took some time.
Sunday was the day to fix the stupid desktop. I first tried to be intelligent and use the tools that Microsoft provided to fix my system. First I tried good ol’ Add & Remove Programs. Didn’t work. I was able to uninstall parts of the system, but the core remained and the services kept running in the background, eating resources. Next was to use the system restore checkpoints. I figured this would work absolutely. And it absolutely did not work. I tried the Thursday checkpoint, it chewed for a while, rebooted, and upon login reported that it did not work. So I tried the August 3 checkpoint, same result.
It’s so nice for MS to provide software to help you fix your system!
Basically I had to pull up the Services applet and turn off the SQL Server services, there are four or so. I also took the opportunity to turn off quite a number of other XP Pro services that just aren’t needed: they open you to risk and eat resources for things that you will never use. One reboot later, and my computer was fairly clean. The reboot also restarted Zone Alarm and Teatimer, all I had to do was enable the Ethernet port and I was back online.
This week has been a bit of a mess, so Saturday I’ll reinstall SQL over the top of the bombed installation and hope things work out.
Well, it turns out that I'd fallen a little behind the times with SQL Server. I thought there was a 2003 edition, turns out that it's a 2005 edition. But amongst the many things that Microsoft does that aren't cool, there's one thing they do that is supremely cool: they sell a Developer's Edition of SQL Server 2005 for $50. And it isn't no wimped-down little version: it's a copy of the Enterprise Edition. EVERY feature that SQL Server has available is included with this set, so there are no restrictions on what you can do with it, as long as you're in a development environment.
For $50, it's a great tool to learn a system!
I installed it on my laptop last Friday. I go to open the database manager to do some putzing about and looking at the new features, and it won't start. So apparently somehow I managed to screw up the installation. I was going to install it on my work computer the following Monday, but that didn’t happen – a virus/worm outbreak pretty much preempted the day.
So Friday evening I get home and fire up my desktop. By having it on both machines, I can practice replication and other fun things! I turn off the Ethernet adapter so that the computer is no longer talking to the internet, then turn off my firewall and Spybot Teatimer (a registry protector – highly recommended!). With those off, once I start installing SQL Server, I won’t have an endless series of messages that I have to sit there and acknowledge as various programs try to install themselves and Teatimer and Zone Alarm scream that programs are installing! And I start installing SQL Server.
Once all of the configuration questions are answered, SQL Server will be off and playing with itself for a considerable period of time. Thus I turn my attention to more important things: dinner for me! Two Hebrew National Franks into boiling water, a can of Bush beanless chili into a small can, and in ten minutes I have two chili dogs with Heinz Organic Ketchup and French’s Mustard. SQL Server is still chugging away, I expect it to take 30-60 minutes. It’s now 9:45pm+, so I’m off to the living room to watch tv: South Park is due at 10:00 and it’s an episode that is new to me.
At 9:55pm the power goes out.
The conclusion of the woe to follow.
My computer is not on a UPS.
Needless to say the SQL Server installation is utterly hosed.
The power came back on, but it wasn’t at full voltage. And that can be worse for your equipment than a spike. I yanked the power plug from my desktop and turned off the two surge strips and pretty much went to bed.
Power was out for about two hours, or at least that’s what I estimated by the clock on the stove when I got up the next morning. I powered up my desktop PC, and sure enough, it had been upgraded to the Pentium Molasses and was just not doing well. I couldn’t get the Ethernet interface turned on because the system was behaving so badly, so I decided that I really didn’t feel like messing with it and turned it off, I left it for Sunday.
My wireless router was fine, so my wife and I had no problems accessing email and such. And uninstalling and reinstalling SQL Server on my much slower laptop (I remember when I went from an 8 MHz PC to a 12 MHz AT and THAT was fast!) took pretty much all day, and at the end of it, I had a working installation of SQL Server! Except then I had to install the patches. Microsoft has already released Service Pack 1 for 2005 along with a handful of other patches, and that took some time.
Sunday was the day to fix the stupid desktop. I first tried to be intelligent and use the tools that Microsoft provided to fix my system. First I tried good ol’ Add & Remove Programs. Didn’t work. I was able to uninstall parts of the system, but the core remained and the services kept running in the background, eating resources. Next was to use the system restore checkpoints. I figured this would work absolutely. And it absolutely did not work. I tried the Thursday checkpoint, it chewed for a while, rebooted, and upon login reported that it did not work. So I tried the August 3 checkpoint, same result.
It’s so nice for MS to provide software to help you fix your system!
Basically I had to pull up the Services applet and turn off the SQL Server services, there are four or so. I also took the opportunity to turn off quite a number of other XP Pro services that just aren’t needed: they open you to risk and eat resources for things that you will never use. One reboot later, and my computer was fairly clean. The reboot also restarted Zone Alarm and Teatimer, all I had to do was enable the Ethernet port and I was back online.
This week has been a bit of a mess, so Saturday I’ll reinstall SQL over the top of the bombed installation and hope things work out.
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no subject
Date: 2006-08-17 07:10 pm (UTC)