SQL Server Video to Pre-Validate Data with PowerShell Before Importing

By: Tim Smith   |   Updated: 2014-07-29   |   Comments   |   Related: More > Import and Export

Problem / Solution

One issue with importing data into SQL Server is that the import file has rows that have too many or too few columns and therefore the imported data doesn't insert correctly or doesn't import at all.  With small files this is easy to manually correct prior to import, but what about files with thousand or millions of rows?  In this video tip, we look at how to use PowerShell to remove the bad records so the import process can function without issue.

Key Learning Items

• The import behavior of BULK INSERT when there are too few or too many delimiters in a line.
• PowerShell script to automate removing invalid lines.
• Reminder of why logging good data is important.

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About the author

Tim Smith works as a DBA and developer and also teaches Automating ETL on Udemy.

This author pledges the content of this article is based on professional experience and not AI generated.

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