![Stop and Think Before You Shrink – Shrinking a SQL Server Database Stop and Think Before You Shrink – Shrinking a SQL Server Database](https://i0.wp.com/www.mlakartechtalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Bad-time-shrink-db.jpg?resize=500%2C338&ssl=1)
I like Halloween so I find myself getting mentally ready each year about a couple of months prior. My mind turns to horrors and I must warn wary travelers in DBA-land about an evil I see all too often – shrinking a database.
I know this has been done to death but I still see it. Gather around the fire as I tell you the ills of shrinking database files.