August 19, 2003 at 10:49 am
Hello,
I spend most of my time doing SQL Server 2000 development work, but have been asked to look into a problem with SQLServerAgent for a particular default instance. SQLServerAgent will not start, and the message appearing in the application log on the server machine indicates, "SQLServerAgent could not be started (reason: SQLServerAgent cannot start because the instance of the server[]is not the expected instance (MSSQLSERVER))".
The following are my findings as I looked into this problem:
-I can only find one instance of SQL Server on the machine. The C drive contains C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\80\Tools and the COM directories. There is an F drive that contains F:\MSSQL7\Binn which among other files holds both executables for the SQLServer Service and the SQLAgentService.
-The properties of both the SQL Server and SQLAgentService accounts show that they are both started with the same account, "sql". This account is a member of Domain Admins and Domain Users.
-Dependencies for the SQLServerAgent account show that it depends on MSSQLServer, and MSSQLServer shows SQLServerAgent as a dependent service.
-There are two 'suspect' databases on this server. When I try to look at the properties of a third database that is not suspect in the EM, I get the message, "Error 2812: Could not find stored procedure "xp_instance_regread". Properties then comes up and shows that the data and log files are both on the F drive in the same location. the 'OK' button on the properties box is disabled.
What else can I check to help me understand why the SQLAgentService is having a problem? Is there anything you could suggest based on what I have presented here?
August 19, 2003 at 12:47 pm
Is the name of the server the same as the SQL instance you found?
August 19, 2003 at 1:13 pm
The registered server and the machine name are the same. CSDunn
quote:
Is the name of the server the same as the SQL instance you found?
August 19, 2003 at 5:44 pm
You might try running sqlagent from a command prompt rather than as a service, just log in to the machine using the service account. You may get a little more info. I think I'd focus on resolving the suspect db's first, run DBCC on all to be sure. The xp might have been removed for security reasons.
Andy
August 20, 2003 at 7:30 am
I had the same problem the other day and recieved the exact same errors that you are reporting above. I found that when i changed the windows password on the machine, the sqlserver agent (or any of the other sqlserver services) could not be started back up again. To prove that this was the case, i changed the password back to the old password and i was able to start the agent again. The reason, i found, was that SQL Server and all of its services authenticate and synchronize with both the SA password and the windows passords from the initial install. A way to get around this is to set up a new windows account with administrative access and have all of your sqlserver services running under that account. That way, when you change the windows password on that server, the sql server services won't be effected. hope this helps.
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