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

[Arthur Fuller]

Darryl,

Let me first confess that even though I have Google Drive installed, I've
never used it, and know virtually nothing about how it and its equivalents
work. A WAG is that I drop stuff into some directory and then my computer
mirrors that on the Google Drive and then I can access that from any of my
(computing) devices, regardless which OS they're running. I guess the best
way to find out is to try something and see what happens (duh). Ok, I'm
going to do that as soon after I click Send.

Gustav,

Thanks for the link. I shall follow these instructions to the letter and
see what happens.

The ironic thing about all these misadventures is that my oldest box is the
most reliable. Probably that has something to do with the fact that I
almost never install anything new on it. other than the Windows 10 builds
and the free tools from ioBit; but that old mutha dates to about 2000 or so
-- HP Millennium, 4GB of RAM, couple of hard disks and a 10-port USB
attached, and she just keeps on working, year after year after year. I
vaguely recall reading some slams against HP hardware, but you're not going
to get one from me. That girl (she is named Guinivere on my home-network);
and guess what the laptop is named? Lancelot! I, Arthur, son of Uther
Pendragon, etc. I won't bore you with the rest of the speech, but suddenly
I want to watch Monty Python's *In Search of the Holy Grail*. Fortunately,
I have it right here, filed under "M", since that was easier to group all
the Monty Python stuff that way.

Arthur
Defeater of the Saxons, and Lord over alllll Britain!

And what's all this fuss about a round table? The simple fact of the matter
is that I grew bored with rectangular tables, some of which rectangles also
happened to be squares, and decided to try something new. It all has to do
with the nature of pi -- perhaps the most astonishing entity in the
mathematical universe. And so and thus, I decided to create a round table.
And thus was created King Arthur's round table.

On Wed, Jul 27, 2016 at 3:58 AM, Gustav Brock <gustav at cactus.dk> wrote:

> Hi Arthur
>
> First, official guides for a complete removal of SQL Server exist:
>
>     https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh231731(v=sql.120).aspx
>
> Second, there are some limitations in licensing for the cloning of VMs.
> For example, Windows Server 2012 R2 allows for two VMs using the host
> license - can't recall how it is for Windows 10.
>
> /gustav
>
> -----Oprindelig meddelelse-----
> Fra: dba-SQLServer [mailto:dba-sqlserver-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] På
> vegne af Arthur Fuller
> Sendt: 27. juli 2016 02:29
> Til: Discussion concerning MS SQL Server <
> dba-sqlserver at databaseadvisors.com>
> Emne: [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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>


-- 
Arthur