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Can you compact a Microsoft Internal Database

Hello everyone, we are running SharePoint Services 3.0 and it is using Microsoft Internal Database and the size of some of the files have grown way out of control I think. Is there a way to compress them or clean them up?

Location of files....
C:|Windows\SysMSI\SSEE\MSSQL.2005\MSSQL\Data
Files that are in question...
CompanyDatabaseSharePoint.mdf (6,092,992 KB)
CompanyDatabaseSharePoint_log.LDF (60,736,000 KB)
SharePoint_Config_Random Letter/Numbers_log.LDF (19,352,192 KB)
WSS_Content_log.LDF (3,164,032 KB)
WS_Search_ServerName_log.LDF (2,160,960 KB)

As you can see those files are taking up almost 90 GB and our entire site is only about 5 GB total. Can anyone help me clean this up? Thank you in advance for your help!!

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

Justin Smith

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Justin Smith

The reason why these ldf files get so big, is when the recovery is set to FULL, all database transactions are written to the log file (ldf) and remain there until the log is backed up. If it is never backed up, it just grows and grows.

Either backing up the log file regularily (which truncates it), or setting the recovery to SIMPLE will prevent this in the future. On internal db's, I usually just go to SIMPLE as you can't create management plans to regularily backup the logs (unless you know tsql).

CCG3

ASKER

Thanks for the replies! I have a test machine up now and I have restored SharePoint and I am trying to do what you are suggesting in a test environment first. I have installed SQL Server Management and I am trying to open those log files but I am getting sharing violation error. I have stopped the website from running and I changed the server type to SQL Server Type to SQL Server Compact Edition. But when I select one of those files I get the error.

Cannot connect to C:\Windows\SysMSI\SSEE\MSSQL.2005\MSSQL\Data\WSS_Content_log.LDF

There is a file sharing violation. A different process might be using the file.

Can someone tell me what I am doing wrong please? Thank you for your help!

CCG3

ASKER

Nevermind. I found it.

http://www.networkinghowtos.com/howto/connecting-windows-internal-database-microsoftssee/

CCG3

ASKER

Hey everyone, I have done exactly what you all have suggested and my files are no smaller.

I installed SQL Manager Express.
I opened the databases, I went to Properties\Options, I changed the Recovery Mode from Full to Simple.
I waited 20 minutes, then ran some new quires and nothing has changed.

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

CCG3

ASKER

Never mind, again.

It was all me. I forgot to run the query. thank you for your help!!

Justin Smith

You've missed something or misstyped the query.