UPDATE READ THIS:

• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3 + Cumulative Updates
• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3 Beta now available
• Cumulative update package 10 for SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2
• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3!
• Cumulative update package 9 for SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2
• Cumulative Update package 7 for SQL Server 2005 SP2
• Which service pack do I have installed?

Sometimes i wonder ...

If you downloaded SP2 prior to 2006-03-05, installing it will yield @@VERSION = 9.00.3042.00. AND if you install the hotfix, you will be up to 9.00.3050.00. Hotfix description http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933508 Hotfix download: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=e2c358a1-ecc4-4c49-8f65-daa6b7800eec Is this a debacle like SP3/SP3a in 2000?!

An issue was recently discovered with SQL Server 2005 SP2 which might impact customers using cleanup tasks in Maintenance Plans and SQL Server Integration Services packages. The issue is described in detail here. We have created a General Distribution Release (GDR) #50000939 to address this issue which is available for download and we have included the GDR in a refresh of the SP2 installation package. Customers who download SP2 starting Monday, March 5th, 2007 will not need to need any further action since the refreshed SP2 installation package includes the necessary GDR. We recommend that everyone who has downloaded and installed SP2 prior to March 5th, 2007 apply the GDR either from Microsoft Update or by downloading it directly from http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=85124. As described in the KB article, this is primarily for customers who use cleanup tasks in maintenance plans and SQL Server Integration Services packages. Maintenance Plan Changes in SQL Server 2005 SP2 Users of SQL Server 2005 maintenance plans and SQL Server Integration Services should be aware of a change in SP2 that affects existing cleanup tasks until updated using SQL Server SP2 tools. Who is affected? You are affected if you use cleanup tasks in Maintenance Plans and SQL Server Integration Services packages, those plans include a History Cleanup Task or a Maintenance Cleanup Task, and you install SQL Server 2005 SP2. Users of SQL Server 2000 legacy maintenance plans are not affected. What is the issue? When SQL Server 2005 was released, cleanup intervals were measured in days, weeks, months, or years. In response to customer feedback, SQL Server 2005 SP2 includes significant enhancements to maintenance plans. These include an enhancement that lets users specify the cleanup interval in hours. The change in intervals caused the initial release of SQL Server 2005 SP2 to misinterpret existing cleanup task intervals in maintenance plans and Integration Services packages. This can lead to the files being cleaned up earlier than intended. The issue is described in detail here. What if I have already installed SP2 on my server? If you downloaded SQL Server 2005 SP2 before Monday, March 5th, 2007, install a general distribution release (GDR) update for those SQL Server 2005 SP2 installations. The GDR is available at the Microsoft Download Center: Critical Update for SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 After you install this GDR, you might have to restart your computer. This GDR is also available through Microsoft Update, and will be applied automatically if you are using automatic updates. However, if you are using failover clustering, you must download and apply the GDR manually. Microsoft Update will not apply the GDR to failover cluster nodes. What if I haven't yet installed SP2 on my server? SQL Server 2005 RTM and SQL Server 2005 SP1 do not have this issue, and the current SQL Server 2005 SP2 download is updated to resolve this issue. If you have not installed the initial release of SP2, you can download the current release and install it.

Note: If you try to apply the SP2 refresh over a previous SP2 installation, no files are updated. Instead, use the general distribution release (GDR) update below.

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Ed Lehman [MSFT]

CU tosc