How to fix Error 10505 on Windows Server 2025 / Windows 11

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Troubleshooting Guide: SQL Server Error 10505 – Invalid Plan Guide Module Name

Why This Error Happens

This error occurs because the @module_or_batch parameter passed to sp_create_plan_guide requires a properly formatted two-part name consisting of schema_name.object_name when the plan guide type is set to OBJECT. SQL Server 2025 strictly validates this naming convention, and a common root cause is providing only the object name (e.g., MyProcedure) without its schema prefix, or using an incorrectly escaped/delimited string. Additionally, this can happen if the stored procedure or function referenced was created under a non-default schema, but the schema was omitted during the plan guide creation call.

Step-by-Step Resolution Guide

Step 1: Identify the Target Object and Its Schema

  • Run a query against sys.objects and sys.schemas to confirm the exact schema of the procedure or function you are targeting.
  • Use the following T-SQL command to verify: SELECT s.name AS SchemaName, o.name AS ObjectName FROM sys.objects o JOIN sys.schemas s ON o.schema_id = s.schema_id WHERE o.name = 'YourObjectName';
  • Do not assume the object resides in dbo; in SQL Server 2025 environments, objects are frequently organized under custom schemas for security partitioning.

Step 2: Correct the Two-Part Naming Syntax

  • Modify your sp_create_plan_guide script to explicitly include the schema name followed by a period and the object name.
  • Ensure the value is properly enclosed in single quotes, formatted exactly as N'schema_name.object_name'.
  • Example of corrected syntax: EXEC sp_create_plan_guide @name = N'Guide1', @stmt = N'SELECT * FROM Table1', @type = N'OBJECT', @module_or_batch = N'Sales.GetOrderDetails', @params = NULL, @hints = N'OPTION (RECOMPILE)';

Step 3: Validate Database Context and Permissions

  • Confirm that the current database context (USE [YourDatabaseName];) matches the database where the schema and object actually reside.
  • Check that the executing user has ALTER permission on the schema in question, as insufficient permissions can sometimes trigger ambiguous parsing errors alongside naming issues.
  • Restart the query execution in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) after context verification to rule out cached session errors.

Step 4: Re-create the Plan Guide

  • Drop the failed plan guide attempt if a partial object was created using EXEC sp_control_plan_guide N'DROP', N'Guide1';.
  • Execute the corrected creation script with the validated two-part name from Step 1 and Step 2.

Alternative or Verification Steps

  • To verify the fix, query the sys.plan_guides catalog view (SELECT * FROM sys.plan_guides WHERE name = 'Guide1';) and ensure the is_disabled column returns 0 and the scope_type_desc matches OBJECT.
  • If the error persists despite correct syntax, use sp_help 'schema_name.object_name' to ensure there are no invisible trailing spaces or special Unicode characters in the schema or object name that are causing the two-part name parser to fail.