Resetting the identity column in a database table can be useful for a number of reasons, such as reclaiming unused space, improving performance, or simply starting the column’s values at a specific number. However, it’s important to be aware of the potential consequences of resetting the identity column, as it can have unintended effects on the data in the table.
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Here are some general steps you can follow to reset an identity column in a SQL Server database:
- Determine the current maximum value of the identity column by running a query like this:
SELECT MAX(MyIdentityColumn) FROM MyTable;
If you want to start the identity column at a specific value (e.g. 1), you can use the DBCC CHECKIDENT command to reseed the column. For example:
DBCC CHECKIDENT('MyTable', RESEED, 0);
- This will reset the identity column to the value specified (0 in this case), and the next record inserted will have an identity value of 1.
- If you want to continue the identity values from the maximum value currently in the table, you can use the same
DBCC CHECKIDENTcommand, but specify the new starting value as one less than the maximum value. For example:
DBCC CHECKIDENT('MyTable', RESEED, 999);
- If the maximum value of the identity column is currently 1000, this will reset the identity column to 999, and the next record inserted will have an identity value of 1001.
It’s important to note that resetting the identity column can have unintended consequences if the column is used as a foreign key in other tables or if there are any dependencies on the existing identity values. Always be sure to backup your database before making any changes and thoroughly test the changes in a non-production environment before applying them to a production database.
