you're getting the error because you can't use DISTINCT on one part of a concatenated column. you'd have to use DISTINCT on the whole column:

SELECT DISTINCT 'DBCC DBREINDEX(' + ...

you should still be able to do it. a couple of things to look at:

1. does the user that you're running the backup as (if you're running as a job,...

now that i think about it, are you using a 4 part name in your SYN? i think for SYNs pointing at objects on the same machine, you should use...

what version of SQL are you running? just for kicks, i verified that i could do it in sql05 sp2...

when creating the backup task in your maintenance plan, where it...

maybe i'm totally missing something here, but try passing the values to the SYNONYN:

EXEC dbo.synMyProc @P1, @P2..., @Pn

i'd set up a maintenance plan instead and have it clean up after 7 days. you can also configure it to do a lot of the preventative maintenance that should...

i'm looking for an example i have, so when i find it, i'll post it. but i'm almost positive i'm passing parameters to my SYNONYMed proc through a linked server.

are...

if the query works without the ISNULL, why not let it ride, then UPDATE your temp table after it's been populated? it adds an extra step, sure, but if it...

are there any string values in the orderid column? what happens if you use "ISNULL([Order Id], '0') AS OrderId" (single quotes around the zero)?

what happens if you run the job(s) manually?

do a print of your all your variables (especially @fileName)... i'd guess that it's NULL, causing the entire XL reference to be a NULL reference.

the green arrow pretty much says it's running, so the next thing to check would be job history... did all steps in the jobs run?

is your sql agent service running?

some pictures of my instruments:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lennynt98/2721595616/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lennynt98/2547160320/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lennynt98/2534769319/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lennynt98/2315206135/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lennynt98/2213763382/

they sound ok when i play them, but i know they can sound SO much better...

you can add IS NOT NULL to the clause:

WHERE substring(hd1.workitem_comment, 115, 1) IN ('1','2','3','4','5') AND hd1.workitem_comment IS NOT NULL

or, if that doesn't work the way you want, if you can...