Running WSUS Cleanup Wizard causes SQL Express database to disconnect

Question

WSUS WID database, SQL Server Express 2017, Windows Server 2012R2
After running Cleanup the application SQL database is not available - status shows awaiting recovery
I have to reboot the server - sometimes more than once - before the SQL database is connected
WSUS was setup when our server was installed - I know very little about the setup or configuration
We run cleanup weekly
Using SQL Server Express 2017 as the backend for Access - again I know very little about SQL Server setup and maintenance

Answer 1

Hi Bob Vitter,

Thanks for your reply.

It seems that the issue is more related with the WSUS database. Unfortunately, I'm not a SQL expert. In order to resolve the issue more efficiently, please consider moving the WSUS role and rebuild a new one.

In addition, we could refer to the below steps to move the WSUS completely:

To remove WSUS completely, you need to:

Remove the following server roles and features through Server Manager:
Roles: Windows Server Update Server
features: Windows Server Update Services Tools(at Remote Server Administration Tools -> Role Administration Tools)

Follow the wizard prompts to complete the deletion. Then restart the server.

After the server is restarted, manually delete the folder or file of the following path:
C:\WSUS (this depends on where you choose to install WSUS)
C:\Program Files\Update Services

Delete database files
If you use SQL Server Management Studio to delete a database, you can try as follow.

In Object Explorer, connect to an instance of the SQL Server Database Engine, and then expand that instance. Expand Databases, right-click the database to delete, and then click Delete. Confirm the correct database is selected, and then click OK.

In the IIS Information Services (IIS) Manager, manually remove the WSUS Administration site. Then restart the server.

Please try to rebuild a new WSUS role after following the above.

Hope the above will be helpful.

Regards,
Rita

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Answer 2

Hi BobVitter-0872,

Thanks for posting on this forum.

Please help to provide a screenshot of the error if it is convenient for you. It is helpful for me to research further.

In addition, it is recommended to configure the IIS for the Application pools as the below link first:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/mem/configmgr/windows-server-update-services-best-practices

Then we could reindex the WSUS database. We could connect to the SUSDB by the SSMS as an administrator and then run the below script to reindex the database:
Reindex the WSUS database reference link:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/mem/configmgr/reindex-the-wsus-database

Hope the above will be helpful. Please remember to inform me if there are any updates about this case.

Regards,
Rita

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Answer 3

Thank you for helping with this problem
I was unable to connect to the SUSDB using SMSS - I did run as Admin

Answer 4

That sounds like a possible solution - if I had any idea how to reinstall WSUS
WSUS was installed by a network consulting firm when we acquired the server
As a volunteer, I keep the server running but try not to do anything that would break something I can't fix