I have completely same defined 2 tables : t2 and t1. t2 has 1000

Question

Editorial Team

Asked: May 27, 20262026-05-27T19:46:02+00:00 2026-05-27T19:46:02+00:00

I have completely same defined 2 tables : t2 and t1.

t2 has 1000 rows and t1 is totally empty.

How can I SELECT top 500 rows from t2 and INSERT them to t1?

You must login to add an answer.

Need An Account,

Editorial Team · Answer 1 · 2026-05-27T19:46:03+00:00

I’ll use “emptyTable” and “populatedTable” because the questions is confusing

Important TOP without an ORDER BY gives 500 arbitrary rows. There is never an implied or natural order to a table

INSERT INTO emptyTable
SELECT TOP 500 * 
FROM populatedTable
ORDER BY What -- need this to define TOP 500

The lack of column list here is usually defined as bad practice but works only if

Edit:

ORDER BY is required to guarantee row order. See these. It’s also in the ANSI standard

The Archive Base Latest Questions