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fdelaporte's avatar
fdelaporte
Copper Contributor
Feb 21, 2022

SQL Server on Windows 10 or 11 with data on a secondary drive with bitlocker enabled

Hello,   On a Windows pro, 10 or 11 (both tested), with SQL Server 2019 (developer edition) installed with its program files in the system drive, C:, but its data files in a data drive D:, both cip...
deepakgupta86's avatar
deepakgupta86
Copper Contributor
Feb 27, 2022

Have you tried delayed start option in sql server services?

fdelaporte's avatar
fdelaporte
Copper Contributor
Feb 28, 2022
Yes I have tried that. Maybe rarely it helps, meaning sometime I do not have to restart it manually, but most of the time it is just the same. And so, I am not even sure that is a change that some very rare times makes a difference.
  • deepakgupta86's avatar
    deepakgupta86
    Copper Contributor
    Feb 28, 2022
    You can try couple of other options

    1) Increase registry stratup delay for the sql services
    2) use the same account to run sql services and enable bitlocker.
    • fdelaporte's avatar
      fdelaporte
      Copper Contributor
      Mar 01, 2022
      Thanks,

      Unfortunately the SQL Server service won't start with my personal account. It has local admin rights, but that is an AAD account (no on premise AD), which is maybe the issue for SQL Server.

      With the two minutes default delay for delayed auto-start, I am quite confident I am already logged-in when it starts. So, I do not expect increasing the delay will do. (My laptop power button is also a fingerprints reader and powering-up with a known finger causes it to automatically log-in once started.)

      Still I have added this:
      [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSSQLSERVER]
      "AutoStartDelay"=dword:000493e0

      I will see if it helps
      • fdelaporte's avatar
        fdelaporte
        Copper Contributor
        Mar 02, 2022

        It changed nothing.

        Actually the delayed auto-start can help, but only if doing a full reboot, not a shutdown and start.

         

        When doing a shutdown and start, by default Windows do a "fast startup", which kind of restore a hibernation state, but logged-out (so no session preservation). This does not actually stop any Windows service (including MSSQLSERVER service), they are kept running in this process. So, they do not actually start on the boot after a shutdown: they are already started. This causes the delayed auto-start to have no effect. And the SQL Server service still loses its access to its data files in the process, thought not having been stopped at all.

         

        So a workaround should be to disable Windows fast Startup (which is infamous for being regularly forced back upon us at major releases) and set the SQL Server service to have a delayed auto-start.

         

        I will confirm later if that works.

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