SSMS 2008 R2 Intellisense stopped working on virtual server

Question

Intellisense has stopped working in SSMS 2008 R2 for me and other users in my department. The issue started after some Windows updates, and since all of the fixes I've seen elsewhere haven't worked yet, I'm wondering if it's related to the Windows updates. Below, I've included how I've tried to fix it and what our setup is like. I'd really appreciate some insight into what's causing this and how we can fix it!

I've already made sure Intellisense is enabled in all of these ways:

• Tools > Options > Text Editor > All Languages > General > Statement completion
• Tools > Options > Text Editor > Transact-SQL > IntelliSense > Enable IntelliSense
• Made sure "Open new queries in SQLCMD mode" is NOT checked in Tools > Options > Query Execution
• Disconnecting the database engine and refreshing the local cache, then re-connecting to the database engine and refreshing the local cache
• Shutting my computer all the way down and starting back up

The Windows updates installed sometime between 4/9 to 4/11/2014.

The main database engine we use is on a virtual server and has consistently worked with Intellisense in the past. It's running on SQL Server Enterprise Edition version 10.50.2500.0.

The other database engine I was connecting to when the issue cropped up (in the days before and after the Windows update) is using SQL Server Express Edition version 10.50.4000.0. Intellisense IS working when we connect to that database engine.

We're using Windows 7 on 64 bit machines. We do not have Visual Studio installed. As an additional data point, when I log in to the virtual server that runs the database engine and open SSMS there, all of the Intellisense features DO work.

Any suggestions for what else we can try to get Intellisense working again with our main database engine? Thank you!!

Answer 1

The version of SSMS installed is just as important as the configuration options (statement completion, enable intellisense, no sqlcmd mode) that you've already covered.

Ensure the workstation where SSMS is running has at least SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2, then apply the most recent cumulative update. A list of the available cumulative updates can be found here.

CU10 is the latest I've installed to resolve this problem, but CU11 should work.

Verify the SSMS version in Help -> About and confirm the build number: