Starting the SQL Agent from the command line

If you’ve attempted to start the SQL Agent from the command prompt you likely would have received the following message:
 
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It is possible to run the Agent, you just require arguments i.e.

  • -c which allows you to use the command prompt, so always required
  • -v optional verbose mode which includes the standard SQL Server Agent error log entries
  • -iinstancename if you are using a named instance

Below shows with -c used for a default instance
 
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Yes there will probably be times when you’ll need to use the above to troubleshoot Agent issues.
 
CTRL + C will stop the Agent.

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