https://www.brentozar.com/archive/2015/10/how-to-download-the-stack-overflow-database-via-bittorrent/

After you download it, extract the .7Zip files with 7Zip. (I use that for max compression to keep the downloads a little smaller.) The extract will have the database MDF, NDFs (additional data files), LDF, and a Readme.txt file. Don’t extract the files directly into your SQL Server’s database directories – instead, extract them somewhere else first, and then move or copy them into the SQL Server’s database directories. You’re going to screw up the database over time, and you’re going to want to start again – keep the original copy so you don’t have to download it again.

Then, attach the database. It’s in Microsoft SQL Server 2016 format (2008 for the older torrents), so you can attach it to any 2016 or newer instance. It doesn’t use any Enterprise Edition features like partitioning or compression, so you can attach it to Developer, Standard, or Enterprise Edition. If your SSMS crashes or throws permissions errors, you likely tried extracting the archive directly into the database directory, and you’ve got permissions problems on the data/log files.

Also make sure the extracted data files are not read-only and you have the proper permissions.

Last modified: June 10, 2024

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