SQL Server Agent Headaches

An email I sent to some collegues recently:

I'm not real clear on what duties your job encompases, or what
experience you have with server environments, but I thought I would pose this issue to you to see if you had encountered it or know what the fix might be...

I've had SQL Server on two machines now at Work (OSes: Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003). SQL Server Agent (which manages scheduled backups) will occasionally (like once every other month or so) just stop running, and thus, the backups stop running.

This has happend on two different servers over a range of patches and service packs to SQL server, and it is a truly annoying problem (because you usually don't realize it quit running until it's too
late).

Have you ever seen/encountered this problem before, and if so, what can I do to fix it?

I have a sledge hammer and I'm ready to use it.

Developersdex - SQL Agent Freezes and Needs a Restart

Developersdex - SQL Agent Freezes and Needs a Restart

I'm going to post some really difficult SQL issues here

I've occasionally run into problems trying to craft a SQL query, and a friend and I often collaborate to solve the problem (okay, he usually gives me the answer). It is fun tackling these issues, and I wanted to record our insanity semi-permanently, so that is why this blog has been created.

Check back often for new weirdness.