All PFW - Moving Database Files to New Location on Server

You may want to move the SQL database files from one location on the server to another in order to free up space on a drive or move the database to a drive with more space on it.

For each database:

1. Right-click the database and go to Properties
2. Go to the Files page and note the path and file name for the files associated with the database.
3. Locate the files on the server at this location.
4. In SQL, right-click the database and choose Tasks -> Detach…
5. Check the Message section to see if any connections currently exist.  If they do, you may need to check the Drop Connection box next to the database name.
6. Click OK to detach the database.
7. Take the files located in step 3 and copy them to the new location specified by the customer on the same server.
8. In SQL, right-click the Databases folder under the server name, and choose Attach…
9. Click on Add… and locate the MDF file at the new location.  Click OK.
10. The Log file should appear in the Database Details section of the form under the Data file.  Click on the ellipsis under Current File Path for the log file.
11. Locate the LDF file at the new location. Select it and hit OK.
12. Click OK to finish attaching.
13. After making sure the database is now accessible, remove the MDF and LDF files from the original location.