SQL Server File Query

  • Hi All,

    We are having some space issues on the OS partition of one of our test servers. It has been suggested by the Network guys that some files can be deleted from here:

    C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Setup Bootstrap\LOG

    I'm not convinced that is a great idea but i don't know what this folder is used for or what is held in this folder. So I have two questions:

    1. What is this folder used for?

    2. Can any of the files in this folder be safely deleted?

    Thanks for your help

    Gethyn Elliswww.gethynellis.com

  • Hi Ellis,

    To the best of my knowledge this is where SQL Server installs write their log files to. In it you should find log files generated by your SQL Server installation and any service packs or hotfixes that have been applied to that machine.

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143702.aspx

    http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms144287.aspx

    My advice would be under no circumstances delete the directory structure. You, or the next person to perform an install, will run into trouble when the install can't write it's logs.

    As to whether or not you keep the log files themselves... it's really up to you whether or not you wish to keep these log files. Personally, I would advise that you hang on to them.

    Hope this helps!

    Martin

  • Hi Martin,

    Thanks for the response. I wasn't going to delete the directory structure under any circumstances. I'm not overly keen on deleting any files from it either. Just wanted confirmation.

    Again many thanks for the repsonse.

    Gethyn Elliswww.gethynellis.com

  • SQL Server Setup fails unexpectedly when you try to install SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2

    http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;935297

  • It may be safe to remove the log files, but this will be just a very temporary solution. The next time fixes are appiled to Windows, the install process will need probably a few 100MB free space. The next time you apply a service pack or CU update, you will need about 1 GB free space on C: for the install to work.

    Your Windows people need to increase the size of the C: partition. On a W2003 system, I reccommend a minimum size of 15 GB for a server that hosts SQL. You may be able to get away with 10GB, but with a 3-year lifetime even 10 GB of space could fill up.

    Original author: https://github.com/SQL-FineBuild/Common/wiki/ 1-click install and best practice configuration of SQL Server 2019, 2017 2016, 2014, 2012, 2008 R2, 2008 and 2005.

    When I give food to the poor they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor they call me a communist - Archbishop Hélder Câmara

  • I assume they already know this... but they need to do a "disk cleanup" and probably a defrag before they start manually selecting files for deletion.

    --Jeff Moden


    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.


    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

  • Also - all current Windows versions seem to want to hold on to the install files for every update every applied to the server. IMO - you will get a LOT farther removing those than some text-based log files.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part...unless you're my manager...or a director and above...or a really loud-spoken end-user..All right - what was my emergency again?

  • yep... that and if Crystal Reports is on the server, dunno if it still does this but it used to leave 1 file per page rendered and never removed them. Even a 0 byte file occupies 64K of actual space on most systems.

    --Jeff Moden


    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.


    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

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