As a database administrator, you often face the nightmare of finding your production SQL database corrupt and non-functional. Read on to know how to Repair a Corrupt MS SQL Database. It’s one of the worst situations that can happen to any business as it usually means you’re unable to carry out any crucial operations, like processing orders, accepting payments, etc. Several reasons might lead to the corruption of your MS SQL database, including human error (such as accidental deletion or overwriting important data), hardware failure (such as hard drive crash), improper shutdown of MS SQL server, etc.
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What is SQL Server?
SQL Server is a relational database management system (RDBMS) developed by Microsoft.
In such types of cases, you need to use a SQL Database Repair tool to Repair a corrupt SQL database. Many tools available in the market can help you do so. However, we recommend using Stellar Repair for MS SQL because it is one of the most effective tools for repairing a corrupt database.
- In SQL Server databases, the primary files have a .MDF extension and contain the user’s data and objects, such as Indexes, Columns, Views, Functions, Values, Tables, Keys, Stored Procedures, Triggers, Default Values, etc. The MDF file stores startup information for the database as well.
- In addition, secondary files have .NDF extensions are optional. You can create an unlimited number of NDF files according to your requirements. As well as spreading data across multiple disks, NDF files can store user data.
Methods to Repair Corrupt SQL Database
Method 1: Use DBCC CHECKDB for Repairing SQL Database
Open SSMS, and follow the steps to fix your SQL database using DBCC CHECKDB.
Notice: In the below-mentioned steps, we will be using the database name Dbtesting. It is important to change DBtesting by the database’s name.
Step 1: Change the Database to Emergency Mode
Change the status of the database to EMERGENCY mode. To put the database to emergency mode, you need to run the following query inside SSMS:
ALTER DATABASE [Dbtesting] SET EMERGENCY
Step 2: Examine for Corruption Errors
When the administrator is in a position to access the database, run this DBCC CHECKDB procedure to look into corruption issues within the database:
DBCC CHECKDB (Dbtesting)
When DBCC CHECKDB detects any errors in the database, it will suggest the correct repair option to fix the problem.
Step 3: Set SQL Server to SINGLE_USER Mode
Before you use one of the DBCC CHECKDB repair options, ensure the database is in the SINGLE_USER mode, preventing other users from altering the database during the repair. To change the SQL the database’s mode from SINGLE_USER to SINGLE, follow these steps:
Method: Using Graphical User Interface (GUI)
Start SSMS and follow these steps to set the database to single-user mode:
- Right-click the database that you want to fix, then select properties.
- On the Database Properties window, click the Options.
- Click on the Restrict Access drop-down menu beneath the State tab, then select the SINGLE_USER option, after which select OK.
Step 4: Repair the Database
After you have changed the database mode to SINGLE_USER, run DBCC CHECKDB with the REPAIR_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS repair option to repair SQL server databases.
DBCC CHECKDB (N’ Dbtesting’, REPAIR_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS) WITH ALL_ERRORMSGS, NO_INFOMSGS;
GO
Note: Repairing errors using the REPAIR_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS repair option can help fix all reported errors in the SQL server database but is not the best way to recover from database corruption. This repair option causes data loss.
Restoring a database from a backup isn’t always possible, so in the circumstances like these, Microsoft suggests using the REPAIR_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS option. If you don’t have a backup and can’t risk losing data, then use specialized MS SQL repair software to repair the database without violating its integrity of the database.
Step 5: Set Database to MULTI_USER Mode
After successful repair of the database, you can set the database back to MULTI_USER mode using the command below:
ALTER DATABASE Dbtesting SET MULTI_USER
Method 2: Use Stellar Repair for MS SQL to Repair Corrupt SQL Server Database
- Download and install the software
- Choose the corrupt or desired MDF file using Browse or Search options.
- If you’d like to retrieve deleted records, choose the “Include Deleted Records’ option.
- Click “Repair”
- After the repair, the software will display an announcement of successful completion.
- The tool recovers all database objects and displays them in the program’s left pane. You can easily view the preview of your restored database.
- Click “Save” under the File menu.
- There are four choices to save your repaired database. The options are MDF (MS SQL), CSV, HTML and XLS. If you select the MDF option, you can choose two choices to save the restored database: ‘Live Database’ as well as ‘New Database’ and two authentication methods: SQL Server and Windows
- Click “Save”
- Saves the repaired SQL database to the desired location. You can check the database in SQL Server Management Studio Supports MS SQL 2017, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2008, and older versions.
Stellar Repair for MS SQL repairs severely corrupt MS SQL databases and restores all database components while maintaining database integrity. The SQL recovery software restores database access rapidly with little manual work. This software has the following key features:
- It fixes both MDF and PDF database files
- Recovers all My SQL database components, such as tables, keys, indexes, and stored procedures.
- Records that have been deleted can be recovered
- With PAGE and ROW compression, SQL tables can be recovered
- Views recoverable objects from a database
Conclusion
As stated above, many factors give rise to corruption in Microsoft SQL Server. Thus, users must repair corrupted SQL Server databases to access their tables, views, stored procedures, functions, triggers, and other objects. If you come into this category, you should consider implementing any of the techniques mentioned in this article.
Also, it is important to have a reliable database repair tool like Stellar Repair for MS SQL Database on your system. It will help you repair a corrupt SQL database and get your data back in working condition.
