It's possible with some configurations of SQL server for the transaction logs to grow very large. This has even at times threatened disk space on some of our customers' servers! It's an infrequent support request, but to solve this, it's essential to use DBCC SHRINKFILE. Here's some steps.
Back up your database!
Launch SQL Server Management Studio.
Open up a query window associated with the database with the large transaction log. (Right-click on the DB and choose new query.)
Get the logical name of the transaction log file. (Right-click on the DB, select Properties, then in the Files screen, grab the Logical Name... probably ends in something like _Log.)
Execute the following, substituting <log_file_name_Log> with the appropriate logical name of the database log file, no quotes needed:
- DBCC SHRINKFILE(<log_file_name_Log>)
- BACKUP LOG <database> WITH TRUNCATE_ONLY
- DBCC SHRINKFILE(<log_file_name_Log>)
Afterwords, perform a full backup of the database.
The file should shrink to a ridiculously small shadow of its former self.
