Symptom

When connecting to a BarTender System Database (likely remote), the user account is able to log into the database but receives this message right after connecting: 

Environment

 BarTender 2019 and above

Solution

BarTender 2019 and above requires that the BarTender System Database be upgraded from the older format / schema. To do this, the current user account that accesses the BarTender System Database must have specific permissions which can be configured within Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio. (Note the current user can be changed later. This is just required for the update)

1. The current user account must have the following roles:

• Server role: dbcreator
• Database role: db_owner

The specific action needed is RESTORE and that action is only available in these roles. If you are unsure how to modify this setting, please see Configuring permissions to a System Database.

2. Use the BarTender System Database Wizard to connect to the BarTender System Database using an account that meets these credentials to perform the update.

3. Once logged in with a user account that has sufficient permissions, it will be presented with these options:

You will need to choose the first option, else BarTender will not be able to use the current System Database. Choosing this option does not make the database unusable by BarTender 2016 and prior versions.

Once that update is complete, you can use the same wizard to modify the connection and change the logged-in user account if needed.