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I'm having a problem with SQL Server 2005 where the SQL Server Agent suddenly refuses to start. If I attempt to start it through Services, I get the error "SQL Server Agent (MSSQLSERVER) service on Local Computer started and then stopped." In the Application log, I have the following entry:

Event Type: Error
Event Source:   SQLSERVERAGENT
Event Category: Service Control 
Event ID:            103
Date:       5/20/2010
Time:       11:07:07 AM
User:       N/A
Computer:            SHAREPOINT
Description:
SQLServerAgent could not be started (reason: Unable to connect to server 'SHAREPOINT'; SQLServerAgent cannot start).

This database has been running fine for four months. It contains a SharePoint configuration database, which two days ago stopped working, throwing me a message that the configuration database cannot be reached. It was then that I realized the SQL Server Agent was not running, and I have been unable to restart it. I have tried running it with both the local system account and the network service account, with the same results. So far, I have tried:

  • Granting the administrators group, network service, and SharePoint SQL Server Agent account public and sysadmin roles on the database.
  • Granting the administrators group, network service, and SharePoint SQL Server Agent account full permissions to the entire MSSQL directory and all files within.

I still have no joy.

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is the VIA protocol running? – Campo May 20 '10 at 16:26
Have you rebooted the machine yet? What other trouble shooting steps have you taken? – aduljr May 20 '10 at 16:43
Is the SQL Server itself running? SQL Server agent needs SQL Server to be running... – Peter Schofield May 20 '10 at 16:55
VIA is not installed at all, and I've restarted a few times with no luck. I'm really not even sure where to go from here. – Geo Ego May 20 '10 at 17:00
Yes, SQL Server is running fine, and I am using the same account for it as I am trying to for the SQL Server Agent. – Geo Ego May 20 '10 at 17:01
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2 Answers

up vote 0 down vote accepted

It looks like this site has some troubleshooting steps you can try:

http://blogs.msdn.com/sqlserverfaq/archive/2009/06/12/unable-to-start-sql-server-agent.aspx

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up vote 1 down vote

You could try running ProcMon from SysInternals, filtering out that particular process, and seeing where it's failing: i.e. is it having DNS issues? Missing registry key? You'll see some low-level errors that may help you isolate what the issue is.

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Thanks for the advice. I don't use ProcMon much, but I just tried it and SQLAGENT90.EXE is throwing tons of NAME NOT FOUND errors and buffor overflows. I don't really know which are important, but one that sticks out is the NAME NOT FOUND error on the "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSSQLServer\Client\ConnectTo" key. I don't have that key in the registry and it seems like I should. Overall, there are about a thousand errors thrown by SQLAGENT90.EXE and the vast majority are NAME NOT FOUND and BUFFER OVERLOW. It's overwhelming. Do you have a suggestion of which ones to start with? – Geo Ego May 20 '10 at 18:04
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