I keep running into issues when trying to insert data and getting errors about IDENTITY_INSERT being disabled. What’s the correct way to enable this feature in SQL Server 2008? Can this be done through Management Studio or do I need to use T-SQL commands?
I tried executing this statement:
SET IDENTITY_INSERT TestDB.dbo.Products ON
The query executed without errors and showed successful completion. But when my application tries to insert records, I still get this error message:
Cannot insert explicit value for identity column in table 'Products' when
IDENTITY_INSERT is set to OFF.
What am I missing here? Is there something else I need to configure?
This happens because IDENTITY_INSERT is connection-specific. When you run SET IDENTITY_INSERT in Management Studio, it only works for that query window - not your app’s connection. You need to run the SET command in the same connection as your INSERT statements. If you’re using stored procedures, put the SET command at the start of the procedure. For direct SQL, batch both statements together or run them in the same transaction. Also remember - only one table per session can have IDENTITY_INSERT enabled. Turn it off afterward with SET IDENTITY_INSERT TestDB.dbo.Products OFF or you’ll get conflicts.
are you including the identity column in your insert statement? even with IDENTITY_INSERT on, you still need to specify the column and value. what’s your actual insert query look like?
yep, had the same problem. make sure SET IDENTITY_INSERT ON is right before your INSERT command in the same batch. and def provide a value for the identity column too, otherwise it’ll still throw an error, even with IDENTITY_INSERT ON.