Thanks Mike. I'll try that.

Al

>What about doing the update in batches? Put the database in Simple Recovery mode and then do the updates in batches of 1000 (or something like it) in a loop. Periodically, issue a CHECKPOINT within the loop to cause SQL Server to truncate the log. Afterwards, put the database back into Full Recovery mode and do a full backup.
>
>-Mike
>
>>Hi,
>>
>>I have to do an update statement changing the value in one field for 8,000,000 rows in a table. This always fills-up my transaction log - how can I do this without hitting the transaction log?
>>
>>Thanks.