Detect Suspect Database Pages with msdb.dbo.suspect_pages
Jul 2, 2026 / · 9 min read · sql server suspect pages msdb database corruption page corruption dbcc checkdb integrity check maintenance storage error scripts ·Storage errors do not always surface as immediate failures. When SQL Server encounters an 823, 824, or 825 error reading or writing a database page, it records the offending page in msdb.dbo.suspect_pages — a system table that accumulates page-level I/O failures across service restarts. Querying this table is the …
Read MoreConfigure Database Mail and Send a Test Message
Jul 1, 2026 / · 11 min read · sql server database mail sp_send_dbmail sysmail_add_account_sp sysmail_event_log sysmail_mailitems sysmail_account sysmail_profile msdb sql server agent administration scripts ·Database Mail ships disabled; enabling it and wiring up an SMTP account, a profile, and a public principal grant are the steps that stand between a fresh SQL Server instance and sp_send_dbmail working reliably. The configuration script below executes all four setup calls inside msdb, fires a test message, and queries …
Read MoreSQL Server Copy-Only Backup Script for Dev Restore
Apr 20, 2026 / · 6 min read · sql server backup recovery copy only backup t-sql database administration msdb sql scripts dev restore ·A copy-only backup is a special SQL Server backup that is independent of the normal backup sequence. It does not reset the differential base or interrupt the transaction log backup chain, making it the correct choice when you need an ad-hoc backup for a development or test environment restore without affecting …
Read MoreSQL Server: Find Databases With No Recent Backup
Apr 19, 2026 / · 6 min read · sql server backup recovery msdb monitoring database administration sql scripts backup audit sys.databases ·Finding databases that have not been backed up recently is one of the most important checks a DBA can run. A database that grows unnoticed without a backup is a data loss event waiting to happen. This script queries msdb.dbo.backupset against sys.databases to surface any online user database with no full backup in the …
Read MoreSQL Server Backup Compression: Enable and Verify
Apr 17, 2026 / · 7 min read · sql server backup recovery backup compression sp_configure msdb sql scripts database administration maintenance scripts ·Backup compression reduces the on-disk size of SQL Server backup files and can significantly shorten backup duration by reducing the amount of data written to disk. This post shows how to enable compression at the server level, verify the setting is active, and confirm compression ratios from backup history using the …
Read MoreSQL Server Backup History: Duration and Size Report
Apr 13, 2026 / · 6 min read · sql server backup recovery msdb sql scripts database administration backup monitoring maintenance scripts reporting sys.databases backupset ·Query Backup Duration and File Size from SQL Server History This script queries SQL Server's msdb backup history to report the backup type, start and finish time, duration in minutes, and file size in both megabytes and gigabytes for every backup across all user databases on the server. Purpose and Overview Knowing …
Read MoreSQL Server Agent Job Failure History Report
Apr 11, 2026 / · 8 min read · sql server sql server agent msdb sql scripts database administration job monitoring maintenance scripts reporting sysjobs sysjobhistory ·Report SQL Server Agent Job Status and Failure History This script queries the SQL Server Agent job history stored in msdb to produce a detailed report of each job's most recent run status, failure and success counts over the last 60 days, total lifetime run counts, and job step information including subsystem type and …
Read MoreSQL Server Backup Status Report: All Databases
Check SQL Server Backup Age Across All Databases This script queries the SQL Server backup history catalog to report the most recent full, differential, and transaction log backup for every database, including how many hours and minutes ago each backup completed. Purpose and Overview Database backups are your last line …
Read MoreSQL Server Verify Backup Files: RESTORE VERIFYONLY
Verify SQL Server Backup Files with RESTORE VERIFYONLY Backup files that cannot be restored are worthless, and many DBAs discover problems only when they attempt an actual restore under pressure. The scripts in this article use RESTORE VERIFYONLY to confirm that backup files are readable and internally consistent …
Read MoreSQL Server Point-in-Time Restore with STOPAT
Apr 5, 2026 / · 8 min read · sql server restore backup recovery transaction log msdb database maintenance DBA scripts point in time restore sys.databases ·Recover a SQL Server Database to a Specific Point in Time SQL Server's RESTORE LOG ... WITH STOPAT lets you roll a database back to any exact moment covered by your backup chain. This guide walks through querying backup history in msdb, executing the restore sequence, and verifying the result. Purpose and Overview Data …
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