KB IssueSQL Server 2005 databases, when created, have the recovery mode set to FULL, which will cause your LDF database files to grow large, over several gigabytes in size.
Update: June 22, 2026
All new databases are set to Full
Copy
Search Site
Search Google
on creation throughout the SQL Server timeline. To better manage the Full structure, read below«.
Issue Details
Setting SQL Server Database's recovery mode to simple will allow for smaller LDF
Copy
Search Site
Search Google
files instead of larger files, which are created when using the Recovery Mode set to Full.
Recreate Issue
Set the Recovery Mode for your SQL Server Databases to FULL
Resolve Issue
This solution has 2 parts; do part 1 first, then part 2.
[Part 1]
Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio
  1. Right click on the Database
  2. Choose [Properties]
  3. From the Properties page,
  4. Choose [Options] on the left Navigation pane.
  5. [Recovery Mode], choose: [Simple]
[Part 2]
  1. Go into [Services] on your server.
  2. Stop [SQL Server]
  3. Then [Delete] all the large .LDF
    Copy
    Search Site
    Search Google
    files
  4. Restart SQL Server
    Copy
    Search Site
    Search Google
    and the .LDF
    Copy
    Search Site
    Search Google
    will be recreated
SQL Server Backup Database and Transaction Logs
Update: June 22, 2026
Instead of performing the above, you can follow the information on our site for creating daily and hourly backups of the database and log files.
SQL Server - Schedule to Backup SQL Server Database«SQL Server - Schedule to Backup Transaction Logs«