Step 2: Verify if the log is full or “empty”
Verify if the log file is actually full or not. If you are backing up and the file still grew to ridiculous size…it may have just been a one time thing and you can deal with that easily. Right-click the database, go to reports, standard reports, disk usage. This will give you 2 pie charts. Left is the data file, right is the log. If the log shows almost or completely full AND the huge size, you need to backup. If the log file is huge and mostly empty, you simply need to shrink to an acceptable size.
Great read for a junior-level DBA.