Delete statement in SQL is very slow

Question

I have statements like this that are timing out:

DELETE FROM [table] WHERE [COL] IN ( \'1\', \'2\', \'6\', \'12\', \'24\', \'7\', \'3\', \'5\')

Answer 1

In my case the database statistics had become corrupt. The statement

delete from tablename where col1 = 'v1' 

was taking 30 seconds even though there were no matching records but

delete from tablename where col1 = 'rubbish'

ran instantly

running

update statistics tablename

fixed the issue

Answer 2

If you're deleting all the records in the table rather than a select few it may be much faster to just drop and recreate the table.

Answer 3

I read this article it was really helpful for troubleshooting any kind of inconveniences

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/224453

this is a case of waitresource KEY: 16:72057595075231744 (ab74b4daaf17)

-- First SQL Provider to find the SPID (Session ID)

-- Second Identify problem, check Status, Open_tran, Lastwaittype, waittype, and waittime
-- iMPORTANT Waitresource select * from sys.sysprocesses where spid = 57

select * from sys.databases where database_id=16

-- with Waitresource check this to obtain object id 
select * from sys.partitions where hobt_id=72057595075231744

select * from sys.objects where object_id=2105058535

Answer 4

If the table you are deleting from has BEFORE/AFTER DELETE triggers, something in there could be causing your delay.

Additionally, if you have foreign keys referencing that table, additional UPDATEs or DELETEs may be occurring.

Answer 5

Check execution plan of this delete statement. Have a look if index seek is used. Also what is data type of col?

If you are using wrong data type, change update statement (like from '1' to 1 or N'1').

If index scan is used consider using some query hint..

Answer 6

Deleting a lot of rows can be very slow. Try to delete a few at a time, like:

delete top (10) YourTable where col in ('1','2','3','4')
while @@rowcount > 0
    begin
    delete top (10) YourTable where col in ('1','2','3','4')
    end