3398b145   
   From: esquel@sommarskog.se   
      
   imani_technology_spam@yahoo.com (imani_technology_spam@yahoo.com) writes:   
   > We have a table that contains billions of rows.  When we try to UPDATE   
   > that table, we overload the transaction log.  What are some ways to   
   > avoid this?  Is there a way to "turn off" the transaction log   
   > temporarily?   
      
   For UPDATEs no. An alternative may be to copy the data to a new   
   table with SELECT INTO, which is minimally logged, meaning that only   
   page allocations are logged. Note that this applies only in simple and   
   bulk_logged recovery.   
      
   Obviously this approach comes with its own set of problems.   
      
   Plamen's suggestion to update in smaller batches is also worth   
   investigating.   
      
   --   
   Erland Sommarskog, SQL Server MVP, esquel@sommarskog.se   
      
   Links for SQL Server Books Online:   
   SQL 2008: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/cc514207.aspx   
   SQL 2005: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/bb895970.aspx   
   SQL 2000: http://www.microsoft.com/sql/prodinfo/previousversions/books.mspx   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)