"Remove files older than" doesn't work

Hi,
My company is using MS SQL 7. There is a database
maintenance plan to do the backup. It sets the "Remove
files older than 1 day". It used to work properly.
Last week, I suddenly found that this remove function
didn't work, and the files remain there for a whole week
until the disk full and backup fail. I don't know what
happen. I try to solve it by restart the server (Windows
2000 server), and change the setting from "1 day" to "23
hours", it totally doesn't work. Now I have to manually
delete the old file every day.
Anybody have the solution?
Thanks in advance.
ToddBelow KB might help:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;303292&Product=sql2k
Also, check out below great troubleshooting suggestions from Bill H at MS:
-- Log files don't delete --
This is likely to be either a permissions problem or a sharing violation
problem. The maintenance plan is run as a job, and jobs are run by the
SQLServerAgent service.
Permissions:
1. Determine the startup account for the SQLServerAgent service
(Start|Programs|Administrative tools|Services|SQLServerAgent|Startup). This
account is the security context for jobs, and thus the maintenance plan.
2. If SQLServerAgent is started using LocalSystem (as opposed to a domain
account) then skip step 3.
3. On that box, log onto NT as that account. Using Explorer, attempt to
delete an expired backup. If that succeeds then go to Sharing Violation
section.
4. Log onto NT with an account that is an administrator and use Explorer to
look at the Properties|Security of the folder (where the backups reside)
and ensure the SQLServerAgent startup account has Full Control. If the
SQLServerAgent startup account is LocalSystem, then the account to consider
is SYSTEM.
5. In NT, if an account is a member of an NT group, and if that group has
Access is Denied, then that account will have Access is Denied, even if
that account is also a member of the Administrators group. Thus you may
need to check group permissions (if the Startup Account is a member of a
group).
6. Keep in mind that permissions (by default) are inherited from a parent
folder. Thus, if the backups are stored in C:\bak, and if someone had
denied permission to the SQLServerAgent startup account for C:\, then
C:\bak will inherit access is denied.
Sharing violation:
This is likely to be rooted in a timing issue, with the most likely cause
being another scheduled process (such as NT Backup or Anti-Virus software)
having the backup file open at the time when the SQLServerAgent (i.e., the
maintenance plan job) tried to delete it.
1. Download filemon and handle from www.sysinternals.com.
2. I am not sure whether filemon can be scheduled, or you might be able to
use NT scheduling services to start filemon just before the maintenance
plan job is started, but the filemon log can become very large, so it would
be best to start it some short time before the maintenance plan starts.
3. Inspect the filemon log for another process that has that backup file
open (if your lucky enough to have started filemon before this other
process grabs the backup folder), and inspect the log for the results when
the SQLServerAgent agent attempts to open that same file.
4. Schedule the job or that other process to do their work at different
times.
5. You can use the handle utility if you are around at the time when the
job is scheduled to run.
If the backup files are going to a \\share or a mapped drive (as opposed to
local drive), then you will need to modify the above (with respect to where
the tests and utilities are run).
Finally, inspection of the maintenance plan's history report might be
useful.
Thanks,
Bill Hollinshead
Microsoft, SQL Server
Tibor Karaszi, SQL Server MVP
Archive at: http://groups.google.com/groups?oi=djq&as_ugroup=microsoft.public.sqlserver
"Todd Chen" <powerful_tech@.yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:039901c39fa0$65479680$a001280a@.phx.gbl...
> Hi,
> My company is using MS SQL 7. There is a database
> maintenance plan to do the backup. It sets the "Remove
> files older than 1 day". It used to work properly.
> Last week, I suddenly found that this remove function
> didn't work, and the files remain there for a whole week
> until the disk full and backup fail. I don't know what
> happen. I try to solve it by restart the server (Windows
> 2000 server), and change the setting from "1 day" to "23
> hours", it totally doesn't work. Now I have to manually
> delete the old file every day.
> Anybody have the solution?
> Thanks in advance.
> Todd|||Wow, reply so fast.
Thanks a lot. Will try.
Todd
>--Original Message--
>Below KB might help:
>http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=3Dkb;en-us;303292&Product=
=3Dsql2k
>
>Also, check out below great troubleshooting suggestions
from Bill H at MS:
>
>-- Log files don't delete --
>This is likely to be either a permissions problem or a
sharing violation
>problem. The maintenance plan is run as a job, and jobs
are run by the
>SQLServerAgent service.
>Permissions:
>1. Determine the startup account for the SQLServerAgent
service
>(Start|Programs|Administrative
tools|Services|SQLServerAgent|Startup). This
>account is the security context for jobs, and thus the
maintenance plan.
>2. If SQLServerAgent is started using LocalSystem (as
opposed to a domain
>account) then skip step 3.
>3. On that box, log onto NT as that account. Using
Explorer, attempt to
>delete an expired backup. If that succeeds then go to
Sharing Violation
>section.
>4. Log onto NT with an account that is an administrator
and use Explorer to
>look at the Properties|Security of the folder (where the
backups reside)
>and ensure the SQLServerAgent startup account has Full
Control. If the
>SQLServerAgent startup account is LocalSystem, then the
account to consider
>is SYSTEM.
>5. In NT, if an account is a member of an NT group, and if
that group has
>Access is Denied, then that account will have Access is
Denied, even if
>that account is also a member of the Administrators group.
Thus you may
>need to check group permissions (if the Startup Account is
a member of a
>group).
>6. Keep in mind that permissions (by default) are
inherited from a parent
>folder. Thus, if the backups are stored in C:\bak, and if
someone had
>denied permission to the SQLServerAgent startup account
for C:\, then
>C:\bak will inherit access is denied.
>Sharing violation:
>This is likely to be rooted in a timing issue, with the
most likely cause
>being another scheduled process (such as NT Backup or
Anti-Virus software)
>having the backup file open at the time when the
SQLServerAgent (i.e., the
>maintenance plan job) tried to delete it.
>1. Download filemon and handle from www.sysinternals.com.
>2. I am not sure whether filemon can be scheduled, or you
might be able to
>use NT scheduling services to start filemon just before
the maintenance
>plan job is started, but the filemon log can become very
large, so it would
>be best to start it some short time before the maintenance
plan starts.
>3. Inspect the filemon log for another process that has
that backup file
>open (if your lucky enough to have started filemon before
this other
>process grabs the backup folder), and inspect the log for
the results when
>the SQLServerAgent agent attempts to open that same file.
>4. Schedule the job or that other process to do their work
at different
>times.
>5. You can use the handle utility if you are around at the
time when the
>job is scheduled to run.
>If the backup files are going to a \\share or a mapped
drive (as opposed to
>local drive), then you will need to modify the above (with
respect to where
>the tests and utilities are run).
>Finally, inspection of the maintenance plan's history
report might be
>useful.
>Thanks,
>Bill Hollinshead
>Microsoft, SQL Server
>
>
>-- >Tibor Karaszi, SQL Server MVP
>Archive at:
http://groups.google.com/groups?oi=3Ddjq&as_ugroup=3Dmicrosoft.public.sql=
server
>
>"Todd Chen" <powerful_tech@.yahoo.com> wrote in message
>news:039901c39fa0$65479680$a001280a@.phx.gbl...
>> Hi,
>> My company is using MS SQL 7. There is a database
>> maintenance plan to do the backup. It sets the "Remove
>> files older than 1 day". It used to work properly.
>> Last week, I suddenly found that this remove function
>> didn't work, and the files remain there for a whole week
>> until the disk full and backup fail. I don't know what
>> happen. I try to solve it by restart the server (Windows
>> 2000 server), and change the setting from "1 day" to "23
>> hours", it totally doesn't work. Now I have to manually
>> delete the old file every day.
>> Anybody have the solution?
>> Thanks in advance.
>> Todd
>
>.
>