Have an interesting situation.
I have a NeverFail cluster on which I loaded SQL Server 2005 and SP1.
All was great. Both nodes had no issues with the initial setup or the SP1 update.
When I forced a failover to the inactive node, MOST of the services like SSIS, Full-Text and SQL Browser came up like a champ.
BUT ... the SQL Server service and the SQL Agent did not come up (or shall I say not fully).
I am now looking at the SQL Server Configuration Manager and I see the following for the SQL Server service:
"Name" shows the RED block icon for the SQL Server
"State" shows "Change pending ..."
"Start Mode" is set to Manual
"Log on as" has my domain account listed
"Process ID" has the number 2956 (so it has started somewhat).
I then click open the SQL Service item and it shows that it is stopped.
I am given the option to START the service. When I try to start it, the meter bar comes up and moves slowly to the end and then an error returns of ...
"The request failed or the service did not respond in a timely manner. Consult the event log or other applicable errors logs for details"
If I look under windows Services in the Admin Tools section... I see the services for SSIS, FT and Browser listed and started BUT I see SQL Server says its "starting".
If I click open the service from here, once again it show "starting" and all of the option buttons to Stop-Start-Pause-Resume are grayed out and I am not able to use them.
I have looked in the Windows Event Logs for any events but none are present.
Now I know why the SQL Agent is not running, and of course that is due to is dependency on SQL Server being up and running.
First off WHAT does the "Change pending" message mean?
Then what other logs can I look at for some help or is there someone who has the answers to this dilemma.
Thanks and have a great evening