Cannot use the special principal 'sa'

Hello,

I am starting to use SQL Server 2005. I am having trouble connecting remotely. I tried to enable the 'sa' user and got this error:

Cannot use the special principal 'sa'

Is the 'sa' user no longer valid for remote connections?

Thank you

Did you enable "Mixed Mode" authentication? If you use Windows authentication, sa is disabled by default.

Sung

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How did you try to "enable" sa? What statement did you execute to get that error?

Thanks
Laurentiu

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Thank you for your reply.

Yes, I did enable Windows authentication, but when I could not connect remotely I decided to to try and connect using SQL authentication. Can I change the authentication mode?

Thank you

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Yes, you can change the authentication mode: go to Management Studio and open Object Explorer. Connect to your server and right-click on the server name, then select Properties. Go to Security tab and under Server Authentication select SQL Server and Windows Authentication Mode.

Thanks
Laurentiu

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Also, after you follow the directions above, you will also need to explicitly enable the sa account as well. In the same place as before, go to Security->Logins. Right-click on the "sa" account, select "Properties". In the list on the left, select "Status" and under "Login" on the right, make sure "Enable" is selected.

[edit] - nevermind, looks like you got it working :)

Sung

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I found the steps to change the authentication.

Now I can login remotely.

Thank you

Cannot use backup file %s. Originally formatted sector size 512 and now device sector

Customer is trying to restore a backup of their database. SQL Server gives
the error:
Cannot use backup file %s.
Originally formatted sector size 512 and now device sector size 2048.
Only one guy (in Germany in March 2000) has ever seen this error. And he
never got a resolution.
(already posted in m.p.s.msde group)Figured it out. He was trying to restore the backup from off a CD. Copy the
file to the local hard drive, and it worked.
i've also seen that if you try restoring the backup across a network, it can
also fix it.
References:
Error: 3268
Severity: 16
Description: Cannot use the backup file '%ls' because it was originally
formatted with sector size %d and is now on a device with sector size %d.
http://ddbcinc.com/askDDBC/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=272
Posted - 05/04/2004 : 10:36:06
----
--
I backed up a SQL Database from a SQL Standard Editon. Now I am trying to
restore to a Desktop Edition.
While Restoring, I get the below error:
[SQL Server] szSqlState = 37000,fNativeError = 3268, errMsg =
[Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver][SQL Server]Cannot use the ba
ckup file
'DBASQL_DB_testdb_PID3732TID3216BID0TS96
cac8VD0' because it was originally
formatted with sector size 512)
Any ideas
Thanks
Santhosh
From Books On Line:
"SQL Server uses nonbuffered I/O, which requires sectors to be aligned. You
must restore the backup set from a disk with the same sector size, or over a
network, which uses buffered I/O. Alternatively, you can specify a WITH
BLOCKSIZE clause when you back up the database."
If you can take a new backup of the existing database, use the WITH
BLOCKSIZE clause, specifying the block size of the Desktop Edition machine's
device. If you cannot take a fresh backup, you can try restoring it over the
network, though this will obviously be significantly slower.
askDDBC
http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article...4364/14364.html
[December 21, 1999]
Why do I get the error "Cannot use file <logfile> because it was originally
formatted with sector size <xxx> and is now on a device with sector size
<yyy> " when I move SQL Server's log file?
InstantDoc #14364
A. This only occurs with SQL 7.x, not 6.x. For performance/consistency
reasons the log writes are aligned on physical sector boundaries. 95%+ of
disks will have the same physical sector size, but if you try and move
between different vendor raid systems, or utilise some form of NAS device
then you may see this problem.
The only work-around is to re-create the log file on the new device and
backup/restore the database.
"Ian Boyd" <ian.msnews010@.avatopia.com> wrote in message
news:u7176xMMGHA.3052@.TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
> Customer is trying to restore a backup of their database. SQL Server gives
> the error:
> Cannot use backup file %s.
> Originally formatted sector size 512 and now device sector size 2048.
> Only one guy (in Germany in March 2000) has ever seen this error. And he
> never got a resolution.
>