FIX: Use of the Copy Database Wizard to Copy a Database Disables Full-Text Indexing on the Source Database (303224)

SYMPTOMS

Use of the Copy Database Wizard (CDW) to copy a full-text enabled database disables the full-text search for the source database. If you try to execute a full-text query and the full-text search is disabled, the following error message occurs:

Server: Msg 7616, Level 16, State 1, Line 1 Full-Text Search is not enabled for the current database. Use sp_fulltext_database to enable full-text search for the database.

CAUSE

To copy the database, CDW performs a detach and attach process on the source database to copy the files to the destination. When the database is attached back to the source server, the system catalogs in the master database are not updated to reflect the fact that full-text search is enabled for the database.

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

NOTE: You must apply SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 1 on the Destination server for the fix to work.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem you can run:

sp_fulltext_database enable

However, the preceding procedure drops and re-creates all of the existing catalogs. So, use of the sp_fulltext_database stored procedure may not be a feasible workaround in all situations because of the time it may take to repopulate data.

To avoid the error message you can:

Use Data Transformation Services (DTS) to copy the database from the source to the Destination server.

-or-
Restore a backup of the source database on the Destination server.

MORE INFORMATION

SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 1 fixes the problem by updating the system catalogs for the source database during the attach phase. The steps for the Copy Database Wizard task show a new task with the following description in the More Info logging window:

Full-text catalogs for the source database '<dbname>' have been successfully enabled.

The system catalogs attach only if the dbid in master..sysdatabases for this database remain the same before and after the catalogs attach. If the dbid is not the same, you must re-create the catalogs for the database.

As far as the Destination database is concerned, it is not full-text enabled after the copy. You must enable full-text indexing on the database, and then create and populate full-text catalogs on the database.

REFERENCES

For additional information, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

240867 INF: How to Move, Copy, and Back Up Full-Text Catalog Folders and Files

274463 Understanding and Troubleshooting the Copy Database Wizard in SQL Server 2000