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From: Shelly <sheldonlg@thevillages.net>
Newsgroups: comp.databases.ms-sqlserver
Subject: Varbinary and nvarchar problem
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 15:00:26 -0400
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Xref: csiph.com comp.databases.ms-sqlserver:1767

I have a table with a field that is nvarchar.  The input data is 
obtained from first doing a HASHBYTES(MD5, the_char_string). Call this 
the_data.

If I first do a CAST(the_data as NVARCHAR)  or if I do a 
CONVERT(NVARCHAR, the_data), then there is no problem with inserting the 
field.  However, when I do a select * via Sqlserver Manager, that field 
contains the string "??????".

If I do not first do the conversion, it insert the hash into the field, 
and succeeds for the first 15 of 1991 records.  It then bombs with 
"incorrect syntax near '<9e>V!¢(Q Ã+;<86>"^@Lmç'.

This process is interrogating a join of two tables and then is inserting 
a processing of the resulting data rows into another table.  It is on 
the insert (which is one condition of a merge statement) where the 
failure occurs.

Does anyone have a suggestion on how I can get the data into the third 
table and not have it all be "???????".

-- 
Shelly