Troubleshooting SQL Server Full-Text Search Problems

9. Error about ignored words

If you encounter errors indicating that the full-text query contains only ignored words, try to rewrite this query to a phrase-based query, removing the noise words.

You will get an error indicating that the full-text query contains ignored words when the CONTAINS predicate is used with words such 'OR', 'AND' and 'BETWEEN' as searchable phrase.

For example, this select statement returns error:

SELECT ProductName FROM Products
WHERE CONTAINS(ProductName, 'and OR between')

10. Rewrite English Query's questions, so that these questions will not require a full-text search on a table with a uniqueidentifier key.

Asking English Query's questions that require a full-text search on a table with a uniqueidentifier key may cause English Query to stop responding.

11. BackOffice 4.5 issues

If you decide to install the full-text search by using the BackOffice 4.5 custom setup, after a successful installation of SQL Server 7.0 (without installing full-text search), you should run Setupsql.exe from the BackOffice CD-ROM(2) (\SQL70\Machine_platform\Setup\Setupsql.exe)

You are not allowed to do it by using the BackOffice 4.5 setup, because the BackOffice Custom Installation dialog box falsely indicate that the full-text search has been installed already.

12. Time Out Errors

If you encounter an error indicating that the full-text query has timed out, try to reduce the size of the result set, or increase the 'remote query timeout' setting, or insert the full-text query result set into a temporary table instead of streaming the results directly to the client.

13. Make a single column unique index for the table you want will be used in a full-text query.

Full-text indexing cannot work on a table that has a unique index on multiple columns. If the table you want will be used in a full-text query does not currently have a single column unique index, add an IDENTITY column with a UNIQUE index or constraint.

14. Upgrade to SQL Server 2000, if you need to work with full-text search in a clustered environment.

Full-text search is not available in a SQL Server 7.0 clustered environment.