Manual backup fails to start

[purepest]

I have a SQL installation with a number of databases in it. All of them appear to backup fine but when I try to run a backup on one database the progress bar appears but doesn't start.

I have tried backing it up to different drives but it just won't start.

Can anyone please help me?

 

[purepest]

Sorry I meant to mention that the install is SQL 2000 and to start the backups I right click on the database, goto All Tasks and select backup from there.

 

[mrdenny]

What does it say in the errorlog?

What happens when you run a backup with the BACKUP DATABASE command?

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000)
MCTS (SQL 2005 / Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0: Configuration / Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: Configuration)
MCITP Database Administrator (SQL 2005) / Database Developer (SQL 2005)

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[purepest]

There is nothing in the error logs - windows or SQL.

When I run the DATABASE BACKUP command absolutely nothing happens. The job starts but no text appears in the bottom window in query analyzer. The elapsed time rises and the globe continues to turn.

 

[mutley1]

How big is the database and how long have you left it before deciding it doesn't work?

When I say how big is the DB, I mean how much data of the allocated mdf / ldf is taken up?

 

[purepest]

I am not sure about the amount of time that the backup hasn't been working. The database is still being written to and can be queried, its just the backup that isn't working.

The data inside the database amounts to 1gb in a 21.5Gb database

 

[mutley1]

Sorry - I meant when you run the backup and say the "blue progress bars" aren't showing, how long do you leave that running before you kill it after deciding it isn't doing anything?

 

[purepest]

Ah... sorry :S

I have left it for 40 minutes.

I also ran dbcc checkdb on the database and that reported no errors

 

[mrdenny]

Try adding WITH STATS=1 to the end of the BACKUP DATABASE command. This will output information to the screen as the backup job completes each percentage.

How busy is the database? (What's the disk IO and disk queue look like?) How fragmented are the physical file(s) and the data within the file(s)?

If the disk is being hammered then the backup will take a long time to complete. Same goes for if the data is heavly fragmented within the data file(s).

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000)
MCTS (SQL 2005 / Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0: Configuration / Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: Configuration)
MCITP Database Administrator (SQL 2005) / Database Developer (SQL 2005)

My Blog