Preface the entire SELECT with:  SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL READ UNCOMMITTED and forget the individual table settings.

Try front-loading that 24-bit value with 8 zeros, converting it into a 32-bit binary, and then into an INT, before converting it into a DECIMAL.

On second thought, never mind.  I...

Looks to me like he (SQL Server) thinks the process you're running is a system-owned process.  Are you sure the rollback hasn't completed?

Anything to do with lawyers?

Hmmm.  The default column terminator is a tab character, which is ASCII (9).  I wonder if that's causing you any problems, assuming there may be imbedded tab chars in the...

How are you importing the file?

"But I thought you said you were going to have my head TOPPED off!" -- Sydney Carton

"We've Only Just Begun", by the Carpenters.

The IDENTITY property cannot guarantee no gaps.  You'll have to use a trigger, I think.

If the interface to a T-SQL procedure is from an external source, i.e., not from another T-SQL procedure that I have under my control, I have found that it saves...

How do you like that?  I guess my perspective was too parochial to even consider looking for something like that.

One good thing that might do is shift the liability for...

> Remember the Johnny Cash song "A Boy Named Sue?"

How do you do?

Well, gee, sure you could do that, Lowell, if you wanted full employment to be your career goal.  🙂

In my personal experience, however, you can disclaim up front all you...

... and Leslie, and Jamie, and Evelyn, and even my own Lee.

One step I forgot to mention:  have a good backup!  🙂  Also, if you have a test server, you should debug your process before you go live.

Also, before you even...