Sql-server – SQL Server Profiler 2005 on remote SQL Server 2008 Express

I know of one other thing that you can try. It affects SQL Server 2005 specifically, but might also be useful in your scenario. Essentially, the wmiprvse.exe executable runs under the context of NETWORK SERVICE. SSCM loads the Sqlmgmprovider.dll into this executable under the same security context. Ensure that NETWORK SERVICE has READ permissions to the SQL Services in question.

The steps needed to accomplish this are detailed in the Microsoft Support Article:

Some or all SQL Server 2005 services are not listed in SQL Server Configuration Manager, or you receive a "No SQL Server 2005 components were found" error message when you perform operations in SQL Server 2005 Surface Area Configuration.

To do this in a standalone environment is a bit trickier. Let's try this with SQL Browser first:

1. Open cmd.exe as an administrator.
2. Type the following command: sc <server_name> sdshow <service_name>
3. Copy the string returned to your favorite notepad clone, we will need this string to revert back to prior configuration if this does not work. This is our SDDL string. The next step will be our concatenated SDDL string.
4. Add the following to the end of the string: (A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;NS)
5. Type the following command: sc <server_name> sdset <service_name> <concatenated_SDDL_string>
6. Open SSCM and see if SQL Browser displays as expected.

The two commands run should look something like this:

sc \\my-server sdshow SQLBrowser

sc \\my-server sdset SQLBrowser D:(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;SY)(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;PU)(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;NS)

To view the trace file contents in SMSS, I am using the following function: FN_TRACE_GETTABLE. To run FN_TRACE_GETTABLE, the users don't need any permissions on the server's file system. Only the account that is running the service must have the permissions to access the trace file, but it already has them, because it has created the trace file in the first place.

I have an automated job that uploads a trace file into a table every weekend, and neither me nor the account running the job have any permissions on the server's file system. This is running 2008 R2.

When I was developing that job, I had run FN_TRACE_GETTABLE from SSMS quite a few times.