FIX: Changing SQL Server Account to Non-Admin for Full-Text Search Makes Existing Catalogs Unusable (295051)

SYMPTOMS

For a full-text search catalog, changing the SQL Server account to a non-administrator makes existing catalogs unusable.

For example, if SQL Server is running with the administrator account, the following script successfully creates and queries a catalog:

use pubs
go
exec sp_fulltext_table 'authors', 'drop'
exec sp_fulltext_catalog 'mycatalog','drop'
exec sp_fulltext_database 'enable'
exec sp_fulltext_catalog 'mycatalog','create'
exec sp_fulltext_table 'authors','create','mycatalog','UPKCL_auidind'
exec sp_fulltext_column 'authors','address','add'
exec sp_fulltext_table 'authors','activate'

exec sp_fulltext_catalog 'mycatalog','start_full'
go
waitfor delay '00:00:10'
go
select * from authors where contains(address, 'bigge')
go

However, if you change the SQL Server account to a non-administrator account, you may receive the following error:

Server: Msg 7619, Level 16, State 1, Line 1 Execution of a full-text operation failed. The catalog does not exist or is currently unavailable. Please retry the action again later and if this symptom persists, contact the system administrator.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for SQL Server 2000. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

290211 INF: How to Obtain the Latest SQL Server 2000 Service Pack

IMPORTANT: When you apply the latest SQL Server 2000 service pack to correct the problem, you must apply the service pack to both the server and the client.

MORE INFORMATION

The administrators group and the local system account always have permission on everything. The problem isn't encountered when changing to another administrator account; because it is in the administrator's group, the account will have the permissions to administer and query the catalogs.

After you configure a non-administrator account as the SQL Server startup account, you cannot drop catalogs that were created by an administrator account:

Server: Msg 7605, Level 17, State 2, Procedure sp_fulltext_table, Line 131 Full-text catalog 'mycatalog' has been lost. Use sp_fulltext_catalog to rebuild and to repopulate this full-text catalog.

To drop the existing catalog, use the administrator account as the SQL Server startup account, and then drop the catalog.