MS SQL question

[CeJay]

Hi All

Ok this is a bit of a doozy for me. Work related question, I have been tasked with sorting out this issue at work, but don't really have much background in this field, but theres no one else in my team that can do it. Bit of a background on the problem.

At work we have a server and a client machine, They are both running on Windows Server 2000. They both have on them proprietry software for the client which uses MSSQL. Late last year the client machines hard drive failed. We rebuilt it with a new hard drive from a back up machine.

Now I had managed to get the client machine talking to the server, and the propriety software can communicate somewhat. The program involves starting sessions and collection of information which is put into the SQL database. Both machines do this fine and can see current sessions.

Now I have the following problems. I cannot generate reports from the client machine or edit any database files. However the server does this fine.

Now I've done a bit of investigating, the MDF file for the Server machine updates everytime the server or program is shutdown. The same with the LDF Log file, however on the client machine Both these files have last modified dates from 2004.

Now comes the stupid part. If I copy these files from the server machine onto the client machine, thereby overwriting them, would this potentially fix the issue? Or will this make this issue worse.?

Currently if I try and export information from the client machine I get a jet database error 3078 followed by an SQL statement basically telling me that it cant find the information, even though the proprietry software can see that the session is there. If I try the same procedure on the server machine it exports the data fine. All the exporting of data is to an access file which can be read, and the exporting itself is done in the proprietry software.

Hope this hasn't confused you all? I just dont want to turn the client machine into a burning heap. I have done a full backup of the machine in preparation of trying the procedure, just after some advice.

I'm not entirely comfortable doing this hence my question here.

[ck9663]

Hi All

Ok this is a bit of a doozy for me. Work related question, I have been tasked with sorting out this issue at work, but don't really have much background in this field, but theres no one else in my team that can do it. Bit of a background on the problem.

At work we have a server and a client machine, They are both running on Windows Server 2000. They both have on them proprietry software for the client which uses MSSQL. Late last year the client machines hard drive failed. We rebuilt it with a new hard drive from a back up machine.

Now I had managed to get the client machine talking to the server, and the propriety software can communicate somewhat. The program involves starting sessions and collection of information which is put into the SQL database. Both machines do this fine and can see current sessions.

Now I have the following problems. I cannot generate reports from the client machine or edit any database files. However the server does this fine.

Now I've done a bit of investigating, the MDF file for the Server machine updates everytime the server or program is shutdown. The same with the LDF Log file, however on the client machine Both these files have last modified dates from 2004.

Now comes the stupid part. If I copy these files from the server machine onto the client machine, thereby overwriting them, would this potentially fix the issue? Or will this make this issue worse.?

Currently if I try and export information from the client machine I get a jet database error 3078 followed by an SQL statement basically telling me that it cant find the information, even though the proprietry software can see that the session is there. If I try the same procedure on the server machine it exports the data fine. All the exporting of data is to an access file which can be read, and the exporting itself is done in the proprietry software.

Hope this hasn't confused you all? I just dont want to turn the client machine into a burning heap. I have done a full backup of the machine in preparation of trying the procedure, just after some advice.

I'm not entirely comfortable doing this hence my question here.

Answer this first: Do you have a copy of the same database? One on the server and one on the client?

Backup everything first, then answer the question and we go from there.

-- CK

[CeJay]

I've backed up the system, there is a copy of the mdb file on both the server and the client machine, they both have the same name and are the same size, along with the ldf files, the difference is the last modified dates, They should be linked therefore as they should reference the same data. The server is currently updating properly when you change something the client machine is

I've also a bit of reading, and I take it my problem may be fixed by attaching the database in Mssql Enterprise manager? As I may not have done this before when I rebuilt the other machine. Would I do this from the client machine or the server machine, as the server machine has the functioning database.

[ck9663]

If you're concerned with the last modified date as seen on windows explorer, it might not be what you thought it is. The db might be modified, but we don't know if the data were. Your third party apps could just be using the client database to be able to link to the server database. So the actual data update is already happening on your server. Every connection that's made or a temp table created on your db, it will be "modified" hence a new modified date. If your running your apps and it's automatically updating both server and client, you don't have a problem.

-- CK