[dba-SQLServer] Remnants or not remnants? That is the question

[Darryl Collins]

Hi Arthur,

" But I learned a lesson: one external drive is insufficient if you really want to CYA"...

I totally agree here - Indeed in addition to physical backups onsite, I use a cloud back up provider as well.  I have an unlimited storage account which I back up my work and personal PC's plus some family members stuff as well.

Turned out to be a valuable option.  Only this month, my sister stupidly managed to crypto lock my parents entire PC with malware. I got them to throw that one in the bin and I replaced the unit with a new one (luckily it was well past the end of it's lifecycle anyway) and downloaded all of their backed up data from the cloud to the new unit.  When they got their new one installed it was pretty much just as it was before - nice.

The crypto lock software works very fast and will lock up all drives it finds (including dropbox) but as there is no connection to the cloud backup those files were untouched.

The other advantage is the cloud backup happens automatically and without any user intervention.  For my parents and in-laws this is pretty much required as experience has taught me that doing manual backups is a step too far for them.  I have also installed some software which should prevent cryptolock from running in case in happens again!

The downside is it takes a while to upload and sync everything, so if you have on a crappy internet connection it might not work so well for you.  I set up it up back up every 48 hours for them, which cuts down the overhead.

Anyway... Worth considering.









-----Original Message-----
From: dba-SQLServer [mailto:dba-sqlserver-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Arthur Fuller
Sent: 27 July, 2016 10:29 AM
To: Discussion concerning MS SQL Server <dba-sqlserver at databaseadvisors.com>
Subject: [dba-SQLServer] Remnants or not remnants? That is the question

To begin with, I seem to have created a problem with my installation of SQL 2014. SSMS loads fine, but then when I select the default database engine it reports an error that it cannot find the file. So I decided to un-install it, and in the Windows Uninstall dialog I see a whole bunch of references to SQL 2008 etc. components. I'm guessing that these are present due to installations of various tools such as those offered by Red Gate and other third-party vendors, but I'm not sure about that. Is my surmise correct?

So I have several questions.

1. Can I safely remove all that stuff?
2. Suppose I want to remove all traces of SQL Server from my machine, and start over. How would you suggest I go about that?
3. (I know I've asked this one before, but have forgotten the answer) How does one restore WIndows 10 to its original setup state? I have all the install programs for all the software I've installed, but would like to start completely afresh, then install a couple of truly essential programs, then create a Restore Point and a backup of that on external disc just in case. It will take a weekend to start from a virgin installation and then install various layers of "essential" stuff, creating a Restore Point after each layer has been installed. I should point out that I have ToDoBackup configured such that it constantly backs up changes to My Documents etc. to external disk, so that I'm free to wipe the hard disk at any time without losing any data; on the other hand, a month ago or so, my external hard disk died -- but fortunately I have two.

And a couple of comments:

Two years or so ago I bought an external hard disk (SeaGate 2TB) which I used as a backup disk. It eventually died, but fortunately by that time I had bought another one, this time 3TB, and everything of importance was saved also there. But I learned a lesson: one external drive is insufficient if you really want to CYA.

It has also occurred to me to set up several Win10 VMs, each containing an instance of SQL Server, Office and a few other essentials, then clone them all so I can replace any and all at will. Since development is my game, not so much actual running of the databases, this might work best. It might also allow me to set up a VM for PostGreSQL, MariaDB, etc., without having to worry about port conflicts etc. In that scenario, no DB would be running on my base OS -- ultimately its only purpose would be to host VMs, internet connections, USB connections, etc.

So that's my plan, in general: create a virgin Win10 installation, back it up; then install critical software piece by piece (primarily EaseUS Backup and Oracle VirtualBox and a couple of other critical tools, then backing up that image, and from then on working within VMs and touching the base system only when Win10 changes. But if that's the scenario, maybe I'm better off installing Linux as the base OS. and then the various Windows versions I need as VMs I have only one hesitatancy here: reconfiguring the box like this might lose my license to Win8.1 upgraded to Win10.

Not sure how to proceed. If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears.

--
Arthur
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