Automatic Updates - now download, but don't install!
I've always just let my computer download and install Windows updates at 3am, what the hell. Ever since my DOS days when computers used to turn themselves on and off whenever they felt like it, I've saved my work before stepping away from the computer. So, I have to reopen some windows in the morning, it's usually worth it.
But not this morning!
3am, about a dozen updates were installed so I have no idea which one did the dirty deed. But suddenly my local copy of the site I'm working on doesn't connect to my local SQL 2005. So I pop open Management Studio and whatever db i try to connect to, I get an error:
Unable to cast COM object of type 'System.__ComObject' to interface type 'Microsoft.VisualStudio.OLE.Interop.IServiceProvider'
Ok, wtf just happened? I use SQL a LOT, this was working yesterday. Google turns up a million people with this problem, not last night but months ago. My registry is corrupt? Turns out I just needed to re-register a dll:
C:\WINDOWS\system32>regsvr32 actxprxy.dll
Now, Management Studio runs again, but won't connect to my local db. Yes, something had turned off the service!
C:\WINDOWS\system32\mmc.exe /32 "C:\WINDOWS\system32\SQLServerManager.msc"
..and a click onto SQL Server (SQL2005) and I was running again. Annoying though...