Error creating geodatabase: User, group, or role 'dbo' already exists

[RobLingle]

Hi all,

I'm having some issues trying to create a geodatabase. In Catalog, I select 'New geodatabase...', enter a name, and click OK. A "Creating geodatabase" progress bar comes up briefly, and then I get an alert:
Error creating this geodatabase. User, group, or role 'dbo' already exists in the current database.

At this point, the new database has been created in SQL Server, I can add a connection under "Database Connections", and I can create a feature class. If I add the new feature class to ArcMap, I notice that the "Type of features stored" and coordinate system are empty even though I specified those when creating the FC. If I attempt to edit the layer, I get "The workspace containing this data cannot be edited".

The database connection properties say I'm using ArcSDE Workgroup Server 10.50.1600.1 (= 10.1?) on Microsoft SQL Server Express Addition with Advanced Services. I'm using Windows authentication to connect to SQL Server and my account has roles 'public' and 'sysadmin'. I'm using Desktop 10.1.

Any ideas?

[AsrujitSengupta]

ArcGIS Desktop 10.1 does not support editing feature classes of a non-sde database.

If you are connecting to the stand alone database (Which does not contain ArcSDE repository tables) you can create, load, view and query the feature class but cannot edit the feature class. In order to edit the feature class you need to be connected to geodatabase (which contains geodatabase tables, functions, and procedures), i.e after creating the database, you need to ENABLE GEODATABASE, to create the Repository Tables, etc which converts the database into a Geodatabase.

The below link has more information on this.
# Database connections in ArcGIS for Desktop:
http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/index.html#//002q00000031000000

Regards,
Asrujit

[AsrujitSengupta]

Simply Right Click on the Database Connection in ArcCatalog->Enable Geodatabase...

This will create the geodatabase.
You can then 'Register with Geodatabase', the existing Feature Classes or create new feature classes. You will now be able to Edit these in ArcMap without any problem.

[RobLingle]

Thanks Asrujit,

I think I was doing everything correctly. The SDE geodatabase functionality was partially working. I uninstalled SQL Server and re-installed from the ArcGIS Server disc. Seems to be fine now.

-Rob

[JoeBorgione]

ArcGIS Desktop 10.1 does not support editing feature classes of a non-sde database.

What does this mean?  Are you saying that at 10.1 all personal and file based geodatabases are off limits?  I hardly think so...

[AsrujitSengupta]

What does this mean?  Are you saying that at 10.1 all personal and file based geodatabases are off limits?  I hardly think so...

By non-sde database (observe the term 'database' and not 'geodatabase'), I referred to the databases created through the SQL Server Management Studio. These databases do not have the repository tables unless you " Enable Geodatabase..." after connecting through ArcCatalog.

The File/Personal are created as 'GEODATABASE' and hence you can edit feature classes etc stored inside them without any problem.

I hope I clarified the doubt.

Regards,
Asrujit

[JoeBorgione]

Well, at the risk of starting a flame war, your use of the phrase  "feature class in a non-sde database" is what threw me.  Any databse I've ever worked with outside of the GeoDataBase realm uses the term record....

[AsrujitSengupta]

Well, at the risk of starting a flame war, your use of the phrase  "feature class in a non-sde database" is what threw me.  Any databse I've ever worked with outside of the GeoDataBase realm uses the term record....

Don't worry, its always better to get the doubts cleared. Rather you have a lot more to share, than me. 🙂

Anyways, answering your question, in ArcCatalog, if you just connect to a database created using SQL Server Management studio, it gives you the option to "Create a Feature Class".
When you try to edit 'this' feature class in ArcMap, thats when you face the error "The workspace containing this data cannot be edited".....which Rob stated in his first post!

You need to Register the Feature Class with Geodatabase, after converting the database into a geodatabase to edit in ArcMap[ATTACH=CONFIG]18345[/ATTACH]!

Regards,
Asrujit

[KimPeter]

Rob indicated that he is using Workgroup geodatabases. The Enable Enterprise Geodatabase tool does not work to create a workgroup geodatabase.

The way to create a workgroup geodatabase is to right-click the database server and click Create Geodatabase, as Rob did originally.  However, I'm not sure what caused the error message received, "Error creating this geodatabase. User, group, or role 'dbo' already exists in the current database.", and why geodatabase creation failed.

Rob, you indicated you re-installed SQL Server Express using the executable provided with ArcGIS Server Workgroup and all is working now, right?  Perhaps the SQL Server Express instance you had before was not a version supported for ArcGIS 10.1(?)  For example, maybe it was 2005?  Or it wasn't SQL Server Express with Advanced Services?

[AsrujitSengupta]

Thanks Kimberly, I had overlooked that.

The 'Enable Geodatabase" does come up in Workgroup aswell if we are connected through "Add Database Connection", after creating a database using SQL server Management studio!

But Rob had used the "Add Database Server" option it seems.

The part which confused me was-- that he mentioned that a database had been created in the SQL server Management Studio & that he could connect using Add Database Connection!
So rest of my post went accordingly!

After re-installing the SQL server, he could create without any problem, so it seems the problem was related to improper installation maybe.