Have you ever encountered an error while working with SQL Server installation? Maybe you were trying to modify a database file and received an error message similar to the one below:

Msg 5169, Level 16, State 1, Line 1
FILEGROWTH cannot be greater than MAXSIZE for file ‘NewDB’.

In this blog post, we will explore the concept of filegrowth and maxsize in SQL Server and discuss how to resolve this error.

What is Filegrowth?

Filegrowth refers to the amount of space that is automatically added to a database file when it reaches its current size limit. It allows the database to grow dynamically as data is added.

In the example scenario, our friend was trying to modify the filegrowth value for the ‘NewDB’ database file. However, he encountered an error because the filegrowth value he specified was greater than the maximum size (maxsize) specified for the file.

What is Maxsize?

Maxsize, on the other hand, defines the maximum size limit for a database file. It ensures that the file does not grow beyond a certain size, preventing it from consuming excessive disk space.

In the CREATE DATABASE statement provided in the example, the maxsize for the ‘NewDB’ file was set to 4096KB. Therefore, any attempt to set the filegrowth value higher than this limit would result in an error.

Resolving the Error

There are two ways to resolve the error:

Method 1: Reduce the Filegrowth Value

If you want to keep the maxsize limit as it is, you can simply reduce the filegrowth value to a lower value that is within the limit. For example:

USE [master]
GO
ALTER DATABASE [NewDB]
MODIFY FILE ( NAME = N'NewDB' , FILEGROWTH = 1024KB )
GO

This will set the filegrowth value to 1024KB, which is lower than the maxsize limit of 4096KB.

Method 2: Increase the Maxsize Value

If you need a higher filegrowth value, you can increase the maxsize limit to accommodate it. For example:

USE [master]
GO
ALTER DATABASE [NewDB]
MODIFY FILE ( NAME = N'NewDB' , FILEGROWTH = 1024MB , MAXSIZE = 4096MB )
GO

This will set the filegrowth value to 1024MB and increase the maxsize limit to 4096MB.

By following either of these methods, you can successfully modify the filegrowth value without encountering the “FILEGROWTH cannot be greater than MAXSIZE” error.

We hope this blog post has provided you with a clear understanding of filegrowth and maxsize in SQL Server, as well as how to resolve related errors. If you have any further questions or face similar issues, feel free to reach out to us.