Zeeshan Ahmed Memon Blog

Cannot use the special principal 'sa'. (Microsoft SQL Server, Error: 15405)

2012-02-01T08:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I start SQL Server 2005 and try to connect with sa user but was enable to connect with the 'sa' user and got this error:

Cannot use the special principal 'sa' (Microsoft SQL Server, Error: 15405)

After doing some google, I found out the solution which I am sharing so that others can get all the possible solutions from this article.

The titled message mean that your sa user is disabled. To enable it, you have to follow below mentioned steps:

1) you have to 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".

2) Also, after you follow the directions above, you will also need to explicitly enable the sa account as well. 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.

3) exec sp_changedbowner 'sa','true' in query editor after selecting the database whom you want to assign user sa.

4) You can also change the password of sa (it's better to change the password).

After performing all above mentioned changes, Exit with SQL Management Studio. Restart Sql Service from services.msc.

Open Management Studio again and try to login "sa". Hopefully, it works. Enjoy!

(Please comment if it work for you).

EXTRACT DATA FROM XLS AND XLSX FILE FORMAT

2010-09-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

Todays post is about how to load data from excel sheet. This post is emphasized on following file formats:

1) xls (Excel Sheet 1997-2003)

2) xlsx (Excel Sheet 2007)

Both sheets require connection string to extract data from sheet.

Connection String for xls:

"Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=Sample1.xls;Extended Properties=Excel 8.0"

Connection String for xlsx:

"Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source=Sample.xlsx;Extended Properties=Excel 12.0"

Below is a small program for your understanding. The program is in ASP.NET.

protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)

{

string connString = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["xls"].ConnectionString;

// Create the connection object

OleDbConnection oledbConn = new OleDbConnection(connString);

// Open connection

oledbConn.Open();

// Create OleDbCommand object and select data from worksheet Sheet1

OleDbCommand cmd = new OleDbCommand("SELECT * FROM [Sheet1$]", oledbConn);

// Create new OleDbDataAdapter

OleDbDataAdapter oleda = new OleDbDataAdapter();

oleda.SelectCommand = cmd;

// Create a DataSet which will hold the data extracted from the worksheet.

DataSet ds = new DataSet();

// Fill the DataSet from the data extracted from the worksheet.

oleda.Fill(ds, "Employees");

// Bind the data to the GridView

GridView1.DataSource = ds.Tables[0].DefaultView;

GridView1.DataBind();

}

I hope this will help you.

SQL Statement OpenDataSource

2010-07-15T06:12:00.000-07:00

SELECT *

FROM OPENDATASOURCE('SQLNCLI',

'Data Source=10.20.2.218;uid=sa;pwd=sa').

cardrequests.dbo.tbl_customer_Sql

The credentials you provided for the SQL server Agent service are invalid. To continue, provide valid account and password for the SQL server Agent Se

2010-05-01T01:24:00.000-07:00

The credentials you provided for the SQL server Agent service are invalid. To continue, provide valid account and password for the SQL server Agent Service.

Today, I have decided to install SQL SERVER 2008 on my PC. All was going fine until I came to server configuration page/tab. I was halted for half an hour to insert correct credential to move to the next page. If you are also getting the same trouble then just enter following data in Account name and password:

Account Name : "NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE "

Password : Blank

I hope this will resolve your issue.

FORMATTING NUMBERS IN SQL

2010-05-01T01:21:00.000-07:00

To format numbers in sql queries in SQL SERVER 2005, use the following command

Select Convert(nvarchar,cast(123123323 as money),1)

This will convert the following number 123123323 to 123,123,323.00

HOW TO REMOVE PRINTER DRIVER

2009-07-30T04:29:00.000-07:00

You can remove printer driver by following steps that are defined below:

1. Go to Printers & Faxes

2. Delete the printer configuration in question. (For safety's sake, you may want to consider deleting all printer configurations to ensure that you aren't still using some element of the driver in another configuration somewhere. Remember that a driver is often times more than just a single file. It may involve shared libraries in use by multiple printer configurations.)

3. Go to File --> Server Properties

4. Go to the Drivers tab. You will be presented with a list of drivers.

5. Select a Driver and press the "Remove" button.

\\server is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administarator of this server to find out if you

2009-07-28T04:27:00.000-07:00

Problem:

Often time I receive a problem while my computer is connected with networks.It work properly on server 5 minutes ago but after 5 minutes it display me the error.

"\\server is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administarator of this server to find out if you have access Permissions. Multiple connections to a server or shared resource by the same user, using more than one user name, are not allowed. Disconnect all previous connections to the server or shared resource and try again."

I digged alot about the solution of the problem. Some post suggest block your firewall which I was not using and many other solution. But nothing work.

After a long hours of digging on web for the above problem and implementing all the solutions that they suggest in their post, I have found a valuable command which solve my problem and now I am not facing this problem and if some time I face then use the solution.

Oh........ I forget the share solution with you. The solution is based on commands and they are (Open your command prompt first)

1) net use * /d

The above command will remove all the map drives from your computer. After writing this command and press enter, it will ask you that to press 'y' for Yes and 'n' for No. Press y. After then write the next command

2) net use h:\\server_name\foldername

Now wait for a few seconds / minutes (might be). It will ask the user name and password. Enter the user name and password and get rid from the problem.

Hope this will work for you as well.

Best of Luck.

OUTLOOK CANNOT CONNECT TO YOUR OUTGOING SMTP EMAIL SERVER.

2009-07-28T03:39:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

I am using MS OUTLOOK for my Email. It was working fine but since last day it is giving me an error.

"Outlook can not connect to your outgoing SMTP E-mail server. If you continue to recieve this message contact your Administrator or ISP Provider."

After digging long hours I get some solutions.

1) Change smtp port from 25 to 587.

OR

2) create the account again.

OR

3) Check Firewalls either they are not creating the problem.

OR

4) If any of the above options is not working then contact to your ISP Provider. Either they have block the SMTP address from their side. Ask them to allow your SMTP to send E-mails.

In my case the fourth option works.

I hope that this will help you in solving the problem.

Wish you all the best............

CONNECTION STRING IN WEB.CONFIG IN C#

2009-07-28T02:55:00.000-07:00

Dear Fellows,

You can create declare connection string in web.config file. You can do so by

<add name="Connection_Name" connectionString="server=(local);database=database_name;uid=sa;pwd=sa" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient"/>

Now you can call this connection in any .aspx page by this command.

NOTE: I am getting connection string in a string variable named "Path"

string path = System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["Connection_Name"].ConnectionString;

See how simple is this. In the same way you can use this connection string in all your .aspx pages.

Take Care and Enjoy...............

The TargetControlID of '_AccordionExtender' is not valid. The value cannot be null or empty.

2009-07-16T23:26:00.000-07:00

Once I was working with a Ajax Based Project in .NET. I was using Accordian Pane. My code was like this (Please note this is just a sample code only for readers):

<ajaxToolkit:Accordion runat="server" TransitionDuration="240" FadeTransitions="true" FramesPerSecond="40" SelectedIndex="0" >
<Panes>
<ajaxToolkit:AccordionPane ID="hd1" runat="server">
<Header>
<a href="" onclick="return false" >HEADER 1</a>
</Header>
<Content>
CONTENT OF HEADER 1
</Content>
</ajaxToolkit:AccordionPane>

<ajaxToolkit:AccordionPane ID="hd2" runat="server">
<Header>
<a href="" onclick="return false" >HEADER 2</a>
</Header>
<Content>
CONTENT OF HEADER 2
</Content>
</ajaxToolkit:AccordionPane>
</Panes>
</ajaxToolkit:Accordion>

And I was facing an Error saying

"The TargetControlID of '_AccordionExtender' is not valid. The value cannot be null or empty."

After digging a little bit I found that I have not provided ID to Accordian

<ajaxToolkit:Accordion id="accordian1" runat="server" TransitionDuration="240" FadeTransitions="true" FramesPerSecond="40" SelectedIndex="0" >
<Panes>
<ajaxToolkit:AccordionPane ID="hd1" runat="server">
<Header>
<a href="" onclick="return false" >HEADER 1</a>
</Header>
<Content>
CONTENT OF HEADER 1
</Content>
</ajaxToolkit:AccordionPane>

<ajaxToolkit:AccordionPane ID="hd2" runat="server">
<Header>
<a href="" onclick="return false" >HEADER 2</a>
</Header>
<Content>
CONTENT OF HEADER 2
</Content>
</ajaxToolkit:AccordionPane>
</Panes>
</ajaxToolkit:Accordion>

After providing ID to Accordian its works fine..................

I hope that this post will also help you.

HOW TO CONVERT A STRING INTO DATE IN VB.NET OR C#

2009-07-15T23:47:00.000-07:00

To Convert a String into Date Format we need date.parseexact() Function.

date.parseExact(date as string, format as string, third attribute)

example

date.parseExact(stDate, "MM-dd-yyyy", nothing)

That's all......... Enjoy.............

WEBCONFIG FILE FOR AJAX IN ASP.NET 2.0 , ASP.NET 3.0 AND ASP.NET 3.5

2009-07-15T22:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

When I have installed VSTS 2008 in my PC, I faced problem in using Ajax Files. I follow all the instructions that was told in vidoes on www.asp.net\learn but no result.

After investing a number of days and hours, I come to the conclusion that I must have to see my old Ajax Projects WebConfig files. When I compare my existing projects webconfig files and old webconfig files I found that they have no Commands to work with Ajax Based Controls.

The reason to publish this webconfig file is to save others time as they might face some time the same problem which I faced and wasted my time.

Below is the entire webconfig file. Simply copy it in your webconfig file or change it as per your need.

<?xml version="1.0"?>

</sectionGroup>

</configSections>

<system.web>

<pages>

</pages>

<!--

Set compilation debug="true" to insert debugging

symbols into the compiled page. Because this

affects performance, set this value to true only

during development.

-->

</compilation>

</httpHandlers>

</httpModules>

</system.web>

<system.web.extensions>

<!--

</converters>

</jsonSerialization>

-->

<!--

-->

<!-- Uncomment these lines to enable the profile service. To allow profile properties to be retrieved

and modified in ASP.NET AJAX applications, you need to add each property name to the readAccessProperties and

writeAccessProperties attributes. -->

<!--

<profileService enabled="true"

readAccessProperties="propertyname1,propertyname2"

writeAccessProperties="propertyname1,propertyname2" />

-->

</webServices>

<!--

-->

</scripting>

</system.web.extensions>

<system.webServer>

</modules>

</handlers>

</system.webServer>

<system.codedom>

How to Insert a new Node in XML File in C#

2009-07-01T01:59:00.000-07:00

This is 4th post regarding XML. In this, I will teach you how to insert a new node in XML file.

The sample XML file is shown below which is before Inserting new Node.

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<Library>
<Subjects name="Computer Science">
<Publishers name="Wrox">
<Begginers>Beginning C#</Begginers>
</Publishers>
</Subjects>
</Library>

Now write the below code to insert a new node in XML.

XmlDocument xmldoc = new XmlDocument();
xmldoc.Load(filename);
//Create New Element
XmlElement element = xmldoc.CreateElement("Begginers");
element.InnerText = "BEGINNER C# (INDIAN WRITER)";
//Insert Node after Publishers
xmldoc.DocumentElement["Subjects"].ChildNodes[0].InsertAfter(element, xmldoc.DocumentElement["Subjects"].ChildNodes[0].LastChild);
FileStream fsxml = new FileStream(filename, FileMode.Truncate, FileAccess.Write, FileShare.ReadWrite);
xmldoc.Save(fsxml);
Console.WriteLine("XML Updated Successfully");

After executing this code you will get the following output.

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<Library>
<Subjects name="Computer Science">
<Publishers name="Wrox">
<Begginers>Beginning C#</Begginers>
<Begginers>BEGINNER C# (INDIAN WRITER)</Begginers>
</Publishers>
</Subjects>
</Library>

How to Insert an New Element in XML File in C#

2009-07-01T01:54:00.000-07:00

This is my third post in which I tell you how to Insert an Element in XML file.

The sample XML file is shown below

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<Library>
<Subjects name="Computer Science">
<Publishers name="Wrox">
<Begginers>Beginning C#</Begginers>
</Publishers>
</Subjects>
</Library>

Now you write the code to insert a new Element.

XmlDocument xmldoc = new XmlDocument();
xmldoc.Load(filename);
//New XML ELEMENT Created
XmlElement xElement = xmldoc.CreateElement("Publishers");

//NEW XML ATTRIBUTE Created
XmlAttribute xAttribute = xmldoc.CreateAttribute("name");
xAttribute.Value = "Indian Book";
xElement.SetAttributeNode(xAttribute);

//Create Inner Element
XmlElement element = xmldoc.CreateElement("Begginers");
element.InnerText = "BEGINNER C# (INDIAN WRITER)";
xElement.AppendChild(element);
xmldoc.DocumentElement.InsertAfter(xElement, xmldoc.DocumentElement.LastChild);

FileStream fsxml = new FileStream(filename, FileMode.Truncate, FileAccess.Write, FileShare.ReadWrite);
xmldoc.Save(fsxml);
Console.WriteLine("XML Updated Successfully");

After executing this code. you will get the following output xml.

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<Library>
<Subjects name="Computer Science">
<Publishers name="Wrox">
<Begginers>Beginning C#</Begginers>
</Publishers>
</Subjects>
<Publishers name="Indian Book">
<Begginers>BEGINNER C# (INDIAN WRITER)</Begginers>
</Publishers>
</Library>

How TO READ XML IN C#

2009-07-01T01:51:00.000-07:00

This is my Second post regarding XML. In first post i told you that how to create a xml file in C#. Now we will learn that how can we read a xml file in c#.

To read an XML file in c# you need to add a namespace.

using System.XML;

Now write the below code to read xml file.

XmlTextReader reader = new XmlTextReader(filename);
reader.Read();
while (reader.Read())
{
if(reader.Value.Trim()!="")
Console.WriteLine("Attribute Count={0}, Attribute={1}, Value={2}", reader.AttributeCount, reader.GetAttribute("name"),reader.Value);
}

I used this code to get my result which I want. You can modify the code to get yours one.

Enjoy..........

HOW TO WRITE XML IN C#

2009-07-01T01:37:00.000-07:00

Below is the code in C# which you can use to create an XML file.

Note: You must include System.XML namespace. You can do so by writing the below command.

using System.XML;

The sample of XML is shown below:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<Library>
<Subjects name="Computer Science">
<Publishers name="Wrox">
<Begginers>Beginning C#</Begginers>
</Publishers>
</Subjects>
</Library>

Now write the below code to get the above result.

XmlTextWriter writer = new XmlTextWriter(filename, null);
//SELECT THE FORMATTING STYLE (INDENTED, NONE)
writer.Formatting = Formatting.Indented;
//STARTING TAG
writer.WriteStartDocument();
//STARTING "Root"
writer.WriteStartElement("Library");
//STARTING ELEMENT NAMED "COMPUTER SCIENCE"
writer.WriteStartElement("Subjects");
writer.WriteAttributeString("name", "Computer Science");
//FURTHER ELEMENT NAMED "COMPUTER SCIENCE"
writer.WriteStartElement("Publishers");
writer.WriteAttributeString("name", "Wrox");
writer.WriteStartElement("Begginers");
writer.WriteString("Beginning C#");
writer.WriteEndElement();
writer.WriteEndElement();
writer.WriteEndElement();
writer.WriteEndElement();
writer.WriteEndDocument();
writer.Close();
Console.WriteLine("XML Written Successfully");

DataRowStates of DataSet

2009-06-18T03:32:00.000-07:00

Programmers always look for shortcuts and ease while he perform his job. Microsoft provides a number of Services in this Regard. VisualStudio.NET is one of the remarkable development of Microsoft. (Enough to talk about Microsoft)

Here, I want to tell you that how can we get only that data from DataSet which we manipulate while we were performing our job.

DataSet has a number of DataRowState Properties:

1) DataRowState.Added
2) DataRowState.Deleted
3) DataRowState.Modified
4) DataRowState.Detached
5) DataRowState.Unchanged

DataRowState help us in getting the manipulated data which we either Change, Delete or Add.

Now, How can we use these state. I am telling you below but first we have to fill a dataset by any values. For Example, I create my own database. Insert values in it and after then I call them through query into dataset.

Here, I assume that you must have fill your dataset already. Now change a value of any row from your dataset. To get confirmation that something is changed you can use the below command:

MessageBox.Show(dataSetName.HasChanges)

If it return you "True" then we get confirmed that something is modified in dataset. Now you can get all the changes either modified rows, added rows, deleted rows, etc. by single command

ds.GetChanges()

or you can get only those deleted/Modified/Added rows by following the below code:

ds.GetChanges(DataRowState.Modified)

The above command will return you only updated rows.

Below I am writing entire Code for the easiness of your sake:

/////////////Form Loaded Method//////////////////////
Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles

MyBase.Load
Try
con.Open()
da = New SqlDataAdapter("select * from tblstudent_Main", con)
da.SelectCommand.ExecuteNonQuery()
da.Fill(ds, "table1")
con.Close()
ds.Tables(0).Rows(1).Item(1) = "Zeeshan"
ds.Tables(0).Rows(5).Item(1) = "Ahmed"
Dim dr As DataRow
dr = ds.Tables(0).NewRow
dr.Item(0) = 7
dr.Item(1) = "Memon"
ds.Tables(0).Rows.Add(dr)
Catch ex As Exception

End Try
End Sub

//////////Button Click Method/////////////////
MessageBox.Show(ds.HasChanges)
Dim ds2 As New DataSet
ds2 = ds.GetChanges()
For Each dr As DataRow In ds2.Tables(0).Rows
///Return True if the rows are added else False

''MessageBox.Show(ds2.HasChanges(DataRowState.Added))

//Return you DataRowState. Remember if you do not write toString() then
it will return you numeric value.

MessageBox.Show(dr.RowState.ToString)

Next
DataGridView1.DataSource = ds2.Tables(0)

MessageBox.Show("transfereed successfully")

I hope that this will help you alot in understanding the DataRowState Concept.

PARAMETERS REQUIRED IN CRYSTAL REPORT

2009-06-10T02:33:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends, When I was new to Crystal Report in Visual Studio. The very first problem that I was encoutered was how to pass parameters to Crystal Report from vb.net. And I was amazed when I found the solution quite easy.

Solution:

You must first make an instance of the report object

dim rpt as new reportname

now you can pass the parameter to report

rpt.setparametervalues("ParameterName",value)

For Example

rpt.setParameterValues("Name",value)

I hope this will help you alot.

Invalid Report File Path

2009-06-10T02:13:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends, Last days I was very upset due to a minute problem which make my life hell, and when I discover its solutions I was amazed that how much easy it was to resolve.

Problem:
I create a report in Visual Studio 2003 in vb.net. The report display its results but when I give it command to print the document or to export the document then it shows me an error which says

"Invalid Report File Path"

I google on web alot and found a huge number of solutions too but neither work for me.

Solution:
The solution was quite simple. I have written all the queries and codes in FormName_Activated() Method. I just cut the code from there and paste it to FormName_Load() Method.

And get the result which I want.

It now not only export the report but also print the report too.

Ohh..... GOD some times a minor problem becomes a huge one and have a very minute solution but only the problem is to discover it..............

I hope this will help you as well.

Wish you all the best......................

INSTANCE OF REFERENCE IS DISPOSED

2009-06-03T23:42:00.001-07:00

Some times we have a situation where we dispose the reference instance and then later on we try to use it and it gives us an exception

"Cannot access a disposed object".

The simple solution of the above problem is that you first check that either the instance of the reference is not disposed. If it is disposed then create a new instance of the reference and to check that either the instance of the reference is alive or not, we simple write the following code

if frm.IsDisposed()=true then
frm=new form1
end if

That's all....

Enjoy the world of Programming.

DATAGRID INSIDE COMBOBOX

2009-05-27T03:28:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

Once my client demand me to provide combo box inside datagridview. I have searched a number of articles but was unsucessfull to know that how to get the value from combo box. On the below link you will find the program in winrar format. Extract it and enjoy.

After Opening this link, search for windowsApplication1.rar.

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/universal_programmersgroup/files/

CRYSTAL REPORT INSTR() FUNCTION

2009-05-02T03:36:00.001-07:00

Many Novice/Professional users face a common error "A boolean is required here" while using Instr() Function in Crystal Report. They try to give true /false or 0/1 value. But still failed in getting the desired result.

Instr() Function take the Index if it find the given text in the defined string. So the simple solution of the problem is

if Instr(string from where to search , string that is searched) > 0 then
"Type the message if the search is successfull"
else
"Type the message if the search is Unsucessfull"

I hope that you will understand it this time and after then in entire your life you will not forget it.

CLOUD TECHNOLOGY

2009-04-27T02:18:00.000-07:00

Cloud Computing [ known as Softwares as a Service (SaaS), and also as on-demand software ] is a new technique in which you can access the services and software application on your system without the need of installing software applications and services on your end. The reason behind this is that all these services/applications are provided to you from any system that is enrolled or part of the cloud.

Cloud computing is a computing paradigm in which tasks are assigned to a combination of connections, software and services accessed over a network. This network of servers and connections is collectively known as "the cloud." Computing at the scale of the cloud allows users to access supercomputer-level power. Using a thin client or other access point, like an iPhone,
BlackBerry or laptop, users can reach into the cloud for resources as they need them. For this reason, cloud computing has also been described as "on-demand computing."

An example of Cloud Computing is Google Apps, which provides common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on Google servers.

Cloud Technology is a style of computing in which typically real-time scalable resources are provided “as a service” over the Internet to users who need not have knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure ("in the cloud") that supports them.

How to Restrict (Limit) Rows in Crystal Report??

2009-03-12T00:35:00.000-07:00

To restrict number of rows in a page on Crystal Report you have to follow these steps:

1) Setup a Running Field from Detail section. Give it name RecCount for the sake of example.

2) Now, goto Section Expert and in Detail Section, click the x+2 button next to the 'New Page After' option and use the formula :

{#RecCount}/10 = int({#RecCount}/10)

that's all.......

Execute your report and see the result.

If later some time you have to change the number of rows then you will simply do it from here by specifying your rows limit requirement.

Enjoy...............

What is difference between in Bind and Eval Methods

2009-02-26T01:03:00.000-08:00

We can use Bind or Eval in the below code,
The difference between them is the Bind method allows ASP.NET 2 supports "the two-way data binding" concept. With this method, we can either fetch data and display them in any data-bound control, and submit changes to the data-store. The Eval method is just a "one-way data binding", meaning that we only can read and display the data, but not writing back.

The Bind method can be used whenever Eval is accepted.

Here there is an example and here you can find info about both methods.

Best of Luck.