Microsoft KB Archive/814848

= SQL Server 2000 may not start after you use the Windows Backup system tool =

Article ID: 814848

Article Last Modified on 4/6/2004

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition, when used with:
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Standard Edition

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SYMPTOMS
After you use the Microsoft Windows Backup system tool to restore a complete system backup, the SQL Server service may not start or may not work correctly.

The following error may be logged in the system event log:

Event Source: Service Control Manager

Description: The MSSQLSERVER service does not start because of the following error:

The system cannot find the path specified.



CAUSE
When you back up the files, the Windows Backup system tool does not back up the short 8.3 format file name of the files. When the files are restored from a system backup, the files are restored in alphabetical order, and a new short file name is generated for each file. When SQL Server tries to start, SQL Server uses the new short file name. However, SQL Server will not start because the file name is incorrect.



If SQL Server 2000 is already installed on the source computer
If you are already experiencing the problem, you can work around the problem by using the following method:

 Reinstall Microsoft SQL Server 2000 on the destination computer, and then move the SQL Server databases from the source computer to the destination computer.

For additional information about how to move a SQL Server database, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

314546 How to move databases between computers that are running SQL Server

224071 Moving SQL Server databases to a new location with detach/attach



If SQL Server 2000 is not yet installed on the source computer
If you have not installed SQL Server 2000 on the source computer yet, you can work around the problem by using either one of the following two methods:

 Before you install SQL Server 2000, disable automatic short file name generation. An automatic short file name is made up of an eight-character name with a three-character file name extension.

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

210638 How to disable automatic short file name generation

Note After you install an instance of SQL Server 2000 on your computer, enable automatic short file name generation. When you install SQL Server 2000, specify a unique short path name.

