Just to say that we have concluded the mdf file is beyond repair. To share the scenario again

With the bad sector in the mdf file

* the T-Log backups succeeded

*...

Thanks again Gail - what you've clarified is making more sense to me. Can I run by you my plan?

- agree maintenance window

- export all the data via an SSIS...

Thanks Gail.

I presume then there's no easy way to confirm this? and do you think there is a chance that shrinking the primary file (which is showing the error) could...

The easiest way to speed up opening an SSIS Package & to avoid validation is to check the "Work Offline" option in the SSIS Menu in Visual Studio.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms137625.aspx

This...

Thanks Paul ... your post cements my thinking.

In short .. the various sites/blogs which estimate sizing of Indexes should be simplied to:

If you ever need to rebuild a Clustered Index...

Very often Insert time-outs are as a result of Shared Locks applied by concurrent DB Read.

Things I'd check:

- Have you a lot of Indexes on these tables.

If so

Are the...