I don't think so but I have never tried anything like that. My understanding would be that if the service is stopped, all SQL Server operations would not be functioning.

Another possible option might be to temporarily remove rights to the selected accounts that access the server. However, depending on how security is set up on the server, it could be a time consuming process unless scripts were used to automate it. I'm just thinking out loud about possibilities on this since I have not had to resolve a situation like yours.

>Hi,
>If I stop the service, could I access it within server itself for maintenance?
>
>Thank you