title: Adding a foreign key constraint fill up my transaction log
body: <p>When trying to add a foreign key constraint on an existing table in SQL Server 2000, I get an error message saying that the transaction log is full. What are the possible reasons why data is being added to the transaction log when a foreign key constraint is being created and what remedy can I apply to each of these reasons? Also, if multiple reasons exist, how can I diagnose which of those reasons are relevant to me?</p>
  
  <p>The script causing the error is a simple one that follows this pattern:</p>
  
  <pre><code>ALTER TABLE [dbo].[tableName] ADD
  CONSTRAINT [key_name] FOREIGN KEY
  (
      [columnId]
  ) REFERENCES [dbo].[otherTableName] (
      columnId
  )
  GO
  </code></pre>