SQL SERVER – SysTools SQL Recovery Software – An Experiment to Recover Database Corruption

NOTE: This was my experiment with database corruption. If your database is corrupted, you should contact professionals who do this as their primary job. Always make sure that you do experiments on the copy of your database on your development server, rather than on production server. Let us learn about Recover Database Corruption.

SQL Server helps to maintain the pace of managing database orderly, following the step by step procedure of updating and handling the Structured Query Language. Duties and responsibilities of database administrator are ever changing as well as challenging from the proper implementation of the system process of being prepared with the recovery solutions for cases of emergency. DBA (Database Administrator) should make sure that the database gets recovered and restored if error messages trouble or corruption issues are reported in the Server. SQL database may get corrupted, inaccessible or even dropped for what so ever probable reasons. The efficiency of an SQL Server admin is calculated according to the reliability, completeness and perfection exhibited by the recovery process they selected. SQL Recovery software can prove to be a perfect solution for most of the SQL MDF and NDF related corruption issues.

Recover Database Corruption

SysTools SQL Recovery software is the tool of choice by many SQL DBA because of the multiple functionalities it exhibits while resolving the troubles with SQL database files. The main peculiarity of this tool is that it succeeds where even the inbuilt disaster recovery options for MS SQL server fails. The procedures usually practiced by DBA after SQL database corruption is declining towards failure because of the complex, incomplete steps they provide. The disaster recovery points set by Microsoft® for SQL server like Database mirroring, Transactional replication/warm standby server, Failover clustering, or the most preferred backup and restore feature is reported to end up in disaster if attempt to restore the database went wrong. Here comes the relevance of SQL Recovery software that works with perfection with all the user friendly features added to make SQL MDF/NDF file recovery successful one.

What Makes SysTools SQL Recovery Software One Outstanding Solution?

SQL Recovery software has been selected the most amongst many other names available in the online market belonging to the similar arena. The tool holds accuracy of provisioning SQL database recovery owing to its features and updates. Capability to restore database from corrupt to healthy format even after the encounter of error messages related to the issues like database not mounting, damaged RAID Strip, etc. Also the potential of repairing the database out of failure in Raid Rebuild attempt, RAID setup, etc. with regard to RAID controller and RAID array along with software/ hardware troubles, file system/OS failure etc. is amongst its greatest praise. Some of the software qualities have been listed with the vision of making it easier for SQL Server Administrators or users to confirm the best possible solution for their database recovery.

Performance Enhancers

• Quick and Advance Scan feature to make scanning of MDF/NDF file specific. For normal file corruption the option for quick scan is suggested, but for severe corruption issues the advance scans is the one to select.
• MDF and NDF database file recovery process is possible for the SQL server version 2012, 2008, 2005, 2000 and 2008 R2.
• Advance scan and repair process offered for tackling with both; primary and secondary database corruption / inaccessibility.
• Deleted SQL database recovery is also offered (tried and tested) with the assurance of database recovery along with maintenance of processing accuracy without data loss.
• Recover SQL Rules, Triggers, Stored Procedures, Functions, Views, Rules, Triggers, primary and unique keys.

Potentiality At Recovery

• Save database scan as .str files to face situational needs where either the process got interrupted or was intentionally intervened due to the large size.
• Auto detection of SQL Server version made the process run without any trouble of platform mismatch.
• SQL Server compatible SQL scripts can be created in case the database has to be created in the absence of SQL Server setup.
• Recover SQL database in case even if the DBCC CHECKDB command fails to give accurate results.
• XML data is also recoverable if XML type columns or variables are created in SQL Server.

Software Pros Reflecting Facilitative Proficiency

Erroneous Corruption State

Error based corruption is the worst of all as compared to others, especially when the messages don’t reflect the cause of occurrence while pose a database inaccessible. Recovering data from such circumstances using this program is effectual due to the guarantee of recovery it extends to users even after a delay at being attended. Delay caused at attending error based issues encountered in SQL Server lead to severity, thus, diminishing the probability of recovery; which certainly isn’t the case with SQL database recovery program.

Damaged Allocation Pages

A lot of complexity is involved in recovering allocation pages while the most challenging thing about it is that; an entire database has to be repaired for a single allocation page to be recovered from the damage. The SQL MDF recovery program is well equipped with the convenience and freedom of recovering tables, views, triggers, etc. Selectively as per the requirement is. This helpfully reduces the Recovery Time Objective for database recovery without compromising on Recovery Point Objective.

Database In Suspect Mode

An SQL Server database gets caught up into suspect mode in the extreme of cases due to; corruption or severe internal damage. SQL Server takes this step in order to maintain the consistency of transaction under the Relational Database Management System’s ACID property. But fortunately recovery from even this case of damage has been tried and tested with the SQL database recovery program with successful results.

NOTE: Unlike other recovery methods; while using SQL Recovery program, Server downtime won’t be faced as it is an independent application that is executable without SQL Server availability. Hence, you can continue working on the Server (with other databases) while the recovery is in progress.

The tool is capable to resolve most of the corruption issues that could possibly take place in an SQL database like: schema corruption, consistency corruption etc. Taking any scenario where DBCC CHECKDB command fails the SQL Recovery tool helps to recover the data maintaining integrity in intact form. Manual SQL database repair trouble can be resolved with the user friendly interface proposed by software for SQL Recovery.

NOTE: Free demo setup of the software is meant for trying out your hand on the tool before going to purchase its full version to gain confidence of performance perfection. However, it is limited to save only the STR file and show a preview of the entire scanned content of MDF/NDF files. To export and save recovered data, full version license is apparently required.

How Software Proceed to Resolve SQL Database Corruption?

Once the software is downloaded and installed in any of the Win OS versions, users can run it following the default path as:

Start>>All Programs>> SysTools® SQL Recovery Software>>SysTools® SQL Recovery Software

• Select option to open MDF file from the system location it is saved at.
• To load the damaged MDF file browse the location, select the file and then Click Open.

MDF and NDF file recovery is possible for that users need to customize the options:

• Under tab for Scan Options, Select Auto detect SQL server file (. mdf) version to let tool, identify the file version or in case if you know the current version you can manually select the SQL Server version (make sure you select the correct version of SQL Server because wrong selection can result in inconsistent results.)

• Under tab for NDF Options, select “Let Me Choose SQL Server Secondary Database Files”, select options to Add files, Folder or Remove File respectively according to the requirement and then Click OK.

• Browse, locate, select NDF file and Click Open.
• Later, the process report of automated MDF file scanning can be seen.
• To save time and effort of scanning large MDF files, user can save the scan as STR files. If want to get .str files, click Yes, otherwise go for NO and proceed to the next step.
• To save the STR file, select a desired location for its storage. Click Save.
• Preview tables, stored procedures, triggers, rules, etc in the preview screen for MDF/NDF files.
• Select Export option to save recovered database items from MDF and NDF files.

To save the SQL database files safely in healthy format, customize the options:

To export and save data as MDF file:

• To export recovered data as MDF format go for “export as SQL Server database”.
• Select “Create Destination Database”.
• For SQL Server authentication, fill in the database credentials i.e. server name, database name, user name, password.
• Select export feature as “with only schema” or “with schema and data”.
• Click Export/Save option.

To export and save data as SQL Server compatible SQL scripts:

• Check and select the desired component of the SQL database file that you want to be exported.
• “With only Schema” or “with Schema and data” you can export SQL database.
• Click Export/Save option to export recovered data as SQL Server compatible SQL scripts.
• Browse location to save the output SQL file and click OK.
• Get progress report of SQL scripts saving process.

Click OK to complete the Export process.

Secondary Measure For SQL Database Recovery

In case the time taken for recovering corrupt SQL database doesn’t suit you and a healthy LOG file for the same MDF is available then; try SysTools SQL Log Analyzer. The application helps analyze transactions performed on a database and recover for which it employs the usage of the corresponding LOG file. The combination of a log analysis and database recovery program helps in reducing the Recovery Time Objective to a lower extent as compared to that of the SQL Recovery program.

Have a look at its processing technique:

1. Log file along with the corresponding MDF file is required for recovering the database through thorough analysis of its transaction.

2. The software automatically loads the corresponding SQL database for the LDF file you browse for, in case both the files are available in a same folder. Also, you can browse and add the associated MDF file manually in case of its availability in a different location.

3. Transaction details of the selected Log file are listed soon after the scan is completed, letting you preview all the operations performed on the associated database.
4. Meanwhile, for exporting database, you are provisioned with three respective options:
   1. SQL Server Database (If SQL Server is available)
   2. SQL Server compatible SQL Scripts (Unavailability of Server)
   3. CSV (For transaction log details)

End Observation And Conclusion: With the widespread usage of SQL Servers worldwide, especially by large scale organizations makes downtime of the Server due to damaged database unaffordable. Meanwhile, SQL Recovery and SQL Log Analyzer both are predominantly dependable for resolving cases of MDF / NDF file corruption. A wise selection is all what it takes to overcome the trouble caused by an inaccessible SQL Server database.

I hope this blog has shared some knowledge about Recover Database Corruption.

NOTE: This was my personal experiment with database corruption. Always make sure that you do experiments on the copy of your database on your development server, rather than on production server. Once verified that your database is 100% recovered, you should experiment on your database. This blog takes no responsibilities whatsoever.

Reference: Pinal Dave (https://blog.sqlauthority.com)