March 2004 - Posts

• SQL Frustrations

  Well, I blew it already on my WSS server.  I installed WSS on it before I installed SQL Server, so it installed the MSDE database instead.  Well, I tried to upgrade it to SQL Server 2000, SP 3, but I couldn't get it to upgrade correctly.  Instead of upgrading the MSDE database, it installed SQL along side it, and I don't know if it transfered the data.  I couldn't get the SQL Server service started, and I couldn't get into MSDE via Enterprise Manager.  I'm glad 99% of my customization at this point had been to the .CSS and XML files rather than the database.  I've backed that up. I tried uninstalling, well, everything, but there was a problem with the MSSearch service.  For whatever reason, it decided it wanted to install itself on my network home directory (H: drive).  I couldn't get it off.  I removed all the registry entries I could find for SQL, I removed the registry entries under HKLM\Service for MSSearch, and I tried simply reinstalling SQL.  Nothing worked.  SQL would install OK for me, but when I tried applying SP3, it would fail on MSSearch. So, I'm doing the only thing left to do now: reinstall Windows 2003 from scratch.  Oh well...previously I had used Windows Server 2003 Standard when I wanted to use the Web Server Edition.  I couldn't find the disks at the time, but I found them now, so I get to have that right, at least. A word from the newly experienced: if you plan on using SQL Server, select Web Farm configuration during WSS installation, and more importantly, install SQL Server BEFORE you install WSS.  In writing that last sentence, it all seems pretty obvious, but I guess when you feel you know what you're doing, you get careless. Good luck to you! Andrew Posted Mar 31 2004, 10:19 PM by andrewjvelez with no comments

• So why the heck are you blogging?

  You know, that's probably the first question that's on your mind.  It would be for me, too.  Well, this post will hopefully explain my purpose in setting up this blog. I'm pretty much new to SharePoint - WSS 2003 is the only one I've used - so I'd like to share my experiences with you other newbies out there and hopefully save you some time and heartbreak.  I've been charged to use SharePoint to create our company's intranet site.  There's some fairly intense stuff I need to do to make it work, so hopefully there will be a little something in it if your bother reading this stuff.  One of the things I'll be doing in the next few weeks is migrating a stand-alone WSS server that is currently using an MSDE database to the web-farm model of WSS that talks to a SQL 2000 database on a remote server.  Then I need to copy the data from that server to another server, and then sync both servers to have the same data and pages.  Fun stuff coming down the pipes.  So stay tuned. BTW: I recently attended the SharePoint BootCamp in Anaheim, Cali.  I'll post a longer review in a later blog, but for now know that it was a lot of fun and very informative.  Oh, yeah, and if you made it this far into my blog, have some mints (inside joke). One more thing, if you ever have a comment, correction, question, or answer about a blog I write PLEASE post a comment or e-mail me.  This is meant to be a discussion that anyone can add to. Later! Andrew Posted Mar 31 2004, 03:26 PM by andrewjvelez with no comments