SQL Table Size

Today I wanted to know which tables were taking up the most space in a database. The backup had doubled in size and I wanted to find the culprit. This StackOverflow converstion got me up and running with the following:

SELECT 
    t.NAME AS TableName,
    s.Name AS SchemaName,
    p.rows AS RowCounts,
    SUM(a.total_pages) * 8 AS TotalSpaceKB, 
    SUM(a.used_pages) * 8 AS UsedSpaceKB, 
    (SUM(a.total_pages) - SUM(a.used_pages)) * 8 AS UnusedSpaceKB
FROM 
    sys.tables t
INNER JOIN      
    sys.indexes i ON t.OBJECT_ID = i.object_id
INNER JOIN 
    sys.partitions p ON i.object_id = p.OBJECT_ID AND i.index_id = p.index_id
INNER JOIN 
    sys.allocation_units a ON p.partition_id = a.container_id
LEFT OUTER JOIN 
    sys.schemas s ON t.schema_id = s.schema_id
WHERE 
    t.NAME NOT LIKE 'dt%' 
    AND t.is_ms_shipped = 0
    AND i.OBJECT_ID > 255 
GROUP BY 
    t.Name, s.Name, p.Rows
ORDER BY 
UsedSpaceKB

If you are using SQL Server 2012+ you can try this as well:

1. Right click on the database in Object Explorer
2. Select Reports -> Standard Reports -> Disk Usage by Top Tables

Thanks again StackOverflow.

I couple years ago, I picked up a pair of Inland Pro-HT Bluetooth headphones to use at my desk at work. I wasn’t looking for top of the line, I just wanted to stop hanging myself when I got up from my desk quickly.

Recently, one of the foam covers disappeared. I’m not sure where I took the headphones that allowed the cover to disappear, but they are very uncomfortable without that cover.

I decided to first check Amazon to see if I could find a replacement, but amazingly was disappointed. Next, I decided to check Google for exact replacement ear covers. The only thing I could find was more people looking for them.

I now resorted to the idea of just using a generic ear cover, so off to Amazon I went again. I found some fairly cheap as an add on prime item. Then I had another thought. If I am going to just use a cheap alternative, why not try a cover from a cheap pair of headphones from the dollar store?

Yesterday, at lunch, I stopped by the local Dollar Tree and grabbed a pair of stylish zebra print headphones with foam ear covers. 

I removed one of the foam pieces, and then stretched it over the plastic pegs the original ear cover attached to.

$1.06 later, I am comfortably rocking out to Mandatory Fun on Google Play All Access at my desk whithout wires again. What initially complicated problem have you solved with a cheap stroll to the dollar store?

Welcome to the Digital Word of Webb. I hope you enjoy the rambling and some rants from a serial technologist.

This is not the way you want to start your evening. If you are one of the unfortunate souls who has been hit with an empty guide, hopefully this will help you get back to the awesomeness of the Media Center experience.

Backup

Wait, my guide is busted, why would I backup now? Recording Schedule! Ian Dixon, of The Digital Lifestyle has created a handy utility to backup and restore Media Center settings called mcBackup 3.0 from Made for Media Center. This utility allows for the back and restore of Scheduled Recordings, Channel Lineup, Recorded TV, Extra Folders. So, before we go any further, backup the recording schedule. I recommend this just in case things get worse before they get better.

Guide Recovery

To restore proper guide data, I had to step through the Setup TV signal wizard. The following screenshots step through the wizard. Don’t schedule the eye exam just yet, the following screenshots are a tad blurry. (Note to self: Don’t shrink Media Center so much when taking screen shots).

These configuration steps allowed Media Center to pull the proper data again. It did take a few (five) minutes for the data to populate again, but I was soon back to the wonderful state of upcoming recordings and a full grid of guide data. The following screenshot shows my guide data restored.

Recording Schedule Recovery

Conclusion

Going Paperless

My wife and I have had the itch to go paperless for a few years now, but we did not have the time to invest to work through the complicated setup. We wanted to create a solution that would allow us to access any of our scanned documents individually anywhere we were. Most importantly this process had to be easy and convenient or we wouldn’t be diligent in using it.

We made a few attempts a few years back with our all-in-one printer/scanner. This was definitely not ideal and was very time consuming. We keep the majority of our computing accessories in the basement, so when using our all-in-one printer/scanner, we would have to walk down stairs, scan each page individually as it was a flatbed scanner without a document feeder, then process/organize the scanned images. As you might imagine this did not last long.

We wanted a fast scanner, that could scan multiple pages, both sides at once, and in a convenient location. News Flash: Speedy duplex scanners are NOT cheap. We were a little overwhelmed when we started to research our new scanner. We wanted to find the most convenient machine to help ensure the success of our system. Eventually we realized that we were going to have to pony up some change to achieve the convenience we were looking for. Enter the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500.

Why did we settle on the ScanSnap? We did a LOT of reading, and then did some more… This review at lawyerist.com sealed it for us. Again, we were looking for convenience, it has to work quickly and reliably, and this scanner does just that.

The next piece of the puzzle was how to store the scanned documents. We had already decided we wanted to utilize Evernote to organize our documents. We had also researched different strategies for automating the transfer of the documents from the scanner to Evernote. We installed the supplied driver application and Evernote version supplied on the CD. We updated the software immediately to the latest versions. We were pleasantly surprised to realize that the newest version of the ScanSnap software had Evernote integration BUILT RIGHT IN!

We created a new evernote account to house our scanned data. We did not use either of our existing individual accounts, we use the new account and share the notebooks from there to our individual accounts. This allows us to keep our personal notes in our own accounts, but still have access to our shared scanned data. We allow evernote to use its Optical Character Recognition (OCR) algorithms determine the text in each document. Now we can search our shared documents from the shared account or our individual accounts. My wife likes to be organized, so she moves the documents into categorized notebooks. I typically just search for what I’m looking for. Oh, did I mention they have apps as well?

I mentioned earlier, that my setup needed to be convenient. We currently use Windows Media Center for our DVR functionality, so we have access to a computer on/near our television. We chose to put the scanner next to the TV, so we have easy access to it while going through the mail. We scan the mail, and then toss it in the recycle bin or put it through the shredder.

In summary, we wanted a fast and convenient scanner for the backbone of our paperless solution, and the  Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500 handles this assignment brilliantly. Evernote provides the features to handle the tasks we need after the ScanSnap has digitized our data. This is the solution that is working for us right now, but as always, your mileage may vary.

Pre-requisites:

1. Your kindle must be rooted. I used Kindle Fire Utility from XDA.
2. You must have a file manager capable of mounting /system writable. I use E. S. File Explorer.