Mohamed Sharaf's Blog

SQL Server Senior Premier Field Engineer & SQL MCM. This blog is my small window to post any technical thoughts. All posts as is.

New fix for SQL 2012 SP1. Fix data loss possibility

On June 10, a new fix released that fixes a bug in SQL 2012 SP1. It's not included in CU#9 that's...

Date: 06/17/2014

Index maintenance script

Another script that I wanted to share for so much time but didn't have the commitment to be...

Date: 06/16/2014

Get Current Activity in SQL Server instance

[Update: Version 2.0 uploaded with some bug fixes] When troubleshooting customer's performance issue...

Date: 05/19/2014

Viewing encrypted data using Trace

Today morning I got an email from a customer to review some design recommendation. In the...

Date: 12/18/2013

Select everything from every table in every database

[Caution: This is for testing only if you want to have a cached dataset, will have severe issues in...

Date: 10/23/2013

Inequality predicates do not trigger scans

I see sometimes there is an understanding that when using inequality operators in the where clause,...

Date: 10/14/2013

Lenovo W530 doesn’t duplicate screens as expected

I recently faced this problem with my new Lenovo W530. On Windows 8 when using win+P to duplicate my...

Date: 03/23/2013

New columns in exec_sessions DMV in SQL 2012

While reproducing the issue with DBCC OpenTran I wrote about earlier this week here I found a...

Date: 02/19/2013

SQL Server 2008 R2 Express

Good news for independent developers who are using SQL Express as backend database. With SQL Server...

Date: 09/22/2010

Free e-book from MS Press

Microsoft Press has just released a new free e-book for SQL Server 2008 R2 " Introducing Microsoft...

Date: 06/03/2010

How to handle expired SQL logins’ passwords in client code

Microsoft is always advise customers to use the new security features for SQL Logins in SQL Server....

Date: 01/22/2009

Moving the tempdb to unknown location

One of my friends called me for a problem at a customer site. The problem simple is that the...

Date: 07/10/2008

MS File Encryption

As I promised in my last post, here's the MS File Encryption program (MS stands for Mohamed Sharaf...

Date: 06/20/2007

Back to MSSecurity library again

If you have seen my previous post about the class library that I developed to encrypt text or files...

Date: 05/29/2007

Cross post with Master pages

I got a feedback for the Master Pages post asking about mixing master pages with cross post. Here's...

Date: 03/15/2007

How to move objects from Schema to another in SQL 2005

If you are building CLR stored procedure and you want this stored procedure to be part of a schema...

Date: 02/21/2007

Changing application settings programmatically in .NET Framework 2.0

As I promised to provide a component to enable you to change the values of the application-scope...

Date: 01/18/2007

Using application/user settings in C# 2.0

This is a quick post for using application or user settings in C# 2.0. I found most of the articles...

Date: 12/12/2006

Misleading error message when you create foreign key constraint

When you create new foreign key constraint in SQL Server 2005 and this constraint conflict with the...

Date: 12/12/2006

How to add null value in Management Studio (SQL Server 2005)

Updating database tables using Management Studio is a the easiest way during the development phase....

Date: 10/30/2006

Using test certificate with Reporting Services 2005 to establish SSL connection

If you are planning to publish your Reporting Services site to the internet then you need to secure...

Date: 10/30/2006

Are you using IE7 and have a problem in accessing some site?

Internet Explorer 7 is the newest version of Internet Explorer(IE) will be launched on Windows Vista...

Date: 08/07/2006

Adding custom code to Local Reports in Visual Studio.NET 2005 (Problems & Solutions)

If you are one of the people who used and enjoyed SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) in SQL 2000...

Date: 12/20/2005

Encrypting configuration files using protected configuration

One of the cool security features in ASP.NET 2.0 is the ability to parts of web.config. Web.config...

Date: 11/17/2005

A quick post: Where's my "Sync with table of content"

If you are a one who wants to know where's the content that you are reading the in the MSDN library...

Date: 11/16/2005

VistaDB solved database hosting problems.

I've been invited to test a new product, VistaDB. I found it amazing. It's a tiny database engine...

Date: 11/10/2005

MSecurityLibrary library for symmetric encryption and hashing

This time I'm introducing one of the most favorite codes for me. I built this library a year ago...

Date: 11/09/2005

How to take your web application offline with simple action [ASP.NET 2.0]

If you are deploying your web application and you don't the users to browse your web application...

Date: 10/16/2005

The complete picture of ASP.NET 2.0 compilation

ASP.NET 2.0 compilation is much different than ASP.NET 1.x compilation. In ASP.NET 1.x there was two...

Date: 10/04/2005

You have a problem with Hijri dates and SQL Server?

Let’s first discuss the problem. We use Hijri calendar and SQL server uses Gregorian calendar. And...

Date: 09/23/2005

Installing Microsoft Enterprise Library on production servers

Many of us encountered a lot of problems when installing Microsoft Enterprise Library on production...

Date: 09/18/2005

Simple application configuration reader/writer class

app.config and web.config are very powerfull techniques for managing application settings. For more...

Date: 09/14/2005

Want to ecrypt all your stored procedures with one click?

I was working in a small project in which I should deploy the database on the production server with...

Date: 09/11/2005

Full features image processing app built on .NET framework

Check out this this cool full features-image processing windows application that totally built on...

Date: 08/25/2005

Passing non-English parameters to reporting services via URL access

Few weeks ago I faced a problem when I was using SQL Server Reporting Services to generate a report...

Date: 08/13/2005

Inside ASP.NET Master Pages

Inside ASP.NET Master Pages Download source (VB & C#) - XXX Kb Introduction Master pages are...

Date: 08/10/2005

Windows XP SP2 Study notes

Few months ago when Windows XP Service Pack 2 launched, I prepared a study notes for myself to...

Date: 07/27/2005

Windows Longhorn.......... Windows Vista

Windows Vista, try to memorize this name well because it will be the name of the next windows...

Date: 07/26/2005