I am trying to read the content of my backup E.g.(testdb.bak) in a text format E.g.(Notepad or another text editor)
This command is retrieving only the file holds:
Restore HEADERONLY From disk = 'C:\backups\testdb.bak'
Is there any way or file extension, file type or format, where I can see the whole content of a backup? without restoring it.
Is there any way or file extension, file type or format, where I can see the whole content of a backup? without restoring it.
No there is no command in SQL Server which would let you see the content of .bak file. If you open it in notepad you would see some information and lots of garbage characters. This is also not supported
The best way to see its content is restore it on SQL Server database and run as many select statements you like on the tables.
Related
In one of my production environment the data file extension for a database showing some crazy extension.
Normally for a database files mdf is for data and ldf for log. But in my case instead of mdf it is showing as bak.
As per my understanding bak extension is for backup file. So how it comes as a data file extension and how it is working.
It will cause any database corruption. How I can resolve this one ?
The name of the file is actually irrelevant. As long as it is properly mapped in the metadata then it will cause no issues.
The MDF, NDF, LDF, BAK extensions are all just a convenience to quickly identify the file type without querying.
If it bothers you, you could change it (https://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertip/4419/renaming-physical-database-file-names-for-a-sql-server-database/).
I am trying to restore a db with a backup, but it fails each time because of a file in use. The file is ftrow_FTC{xxxxxxx}.ndf
Does anyone know what this file is and what its for? Do I need it? If not, how can I get rid of it? Thank you.
I should add, this is SQL 2012 server on a Server 2008 R2.
the ftrow_FTC{xxxxxxx}.ndf if a Full-Text Catalog file. You're probably using SQL Server Management Studio wizard to restore that database. However, you can also use a t-sql command to do the restore.
In the latter case you could tell SQL Server to restore your full text catalog file under different name/path with the RESTORE ... WITH MOVE command:
RESTORE DATABASE DBNAME from disk = N'd:\path\to\your\backup.bak'
WITH MOVE 'ftrow_FTC{xxxxxxx}.ndf' TO 'd:\path\to\new\FT_location\ftrow_FTC{xxxxxxx}.ndf'
replace the DBNAME with your real DB name and the ftrow file name with real file name.
UPDATE: you can also easily restore your DB with full text catalog under different file name using SQL Server Management Studio dialog. During restore simply locate your ftrow file record in the DB files list and assign it to different path. That way you will not get conflict with the ftrow file used by your live DB.
HTH
I've got a bak file (which is a backup database file for a SQL server express 2005 mdf file) and I should obtain the MDF file so that I can work on its tables, how can I get the original MDF file from this bak file? I'm using Visual Studio 2012, is it necessary to have management studio? I've tried to restore this bak file to an empty database in another system containing Sql server express management studio 2008, but it says databases don't match, what is going wrong?
Keep in mind that restoring a database backup file will not give the original MDF (and LDF) files. The only way to get the original MDF file is to copy it
You can execute the T-SQL suggested by steoleary in Visual Studio, see more here: How to: Run SQL Scripts in Solution Explorer. You can also do that in SQL Server management Studio.
The blank database you created doesn't help much, unless you want to synchronize the backup to it. But for that you would need a 3rd party tool
First, execute the following to find out the logical file names in your backup. This example is for the backup named TestFull.bak stored in E:\Test
RESTORE FILELISTONLY
FROM DISK = 'E:\Test\TestFull.bak'
GO
The logical names should be used in the next script. Also, update the paths and names used
RESTORE DATABASE YourDB
FROM DISK = 'E:\Test\TestFull.bak'
WITH MOVE 'test1' TO 'E:\test\TestMDFFile.mdf',
MOVE 'test1_log' TO 'E:\test\TestLDFFile.ldf'
If you have created a blank database, to overwrite this with the backup you will need to specify the WITH REPLACE parameter.
Also, you may have to specify the MOVE parameter to put the files into the correct locations.
You should be able to quite easily find these options in the GUI when doing the restore, or alternatively you can script it out by using the reference here:
How to: Restore a Database to a New Location and Name (Transact-SQL)
I have a series of repetitive tasks here at work. One of these is the creation of new database from a template.
To achieve this we have a *master_db* database that act like a template and its location is something like C:\Backup\master_db.bak.
After the creation of a new database new_db, right-click on it and go through Task->Restore->Database. In the General tab I choose From device and then I set C:\Backup\master_db.bak as restoring source. In the Options tab I'll choose Overwrite existing database and I also need to change .mdf and .log file (currently C:\SQLData\master_db.mdf and C:\SQLData\master_db_log.ldf in C:\SQLData\new_db.mdf and C:\SQLData\new_db_log.ldf).
This iter is in working order but for automation sake I need to do this step through code. What should I do? What parameters needs my RESTORE command? What command should I use to properly set .mdf and .ldf files?
restore database new_db from disk = 'C:\Backup\master_db.bak'
with
move '<data_file>' to 'C:\SQLData\new_db.mdf',
move '<log_file>' to 'C:\SQLData\new_db_log.ldf',
replace
You need to update <data_file> and <log_file> with the logical file names for these files. You should be able to see them in the GUI.
I want a copy of SQL Server transaction log file for "raw" analysis. What is the safest way to get a copy of that file without shutting down the database and disturbing the existing log/backups/backup schedules and just about everything.
FYI, Its a SQL Server 2000 database server and I can see the log file (its about 4GB in size) and I cannot copy it as is; I get the "access denied" error when copying from explorer or command line.
Can you not analyse the log file backups instead of the log file itself? If you must have a copy of the log file itself, restoring a backup of the database and all transaction logs will give you a replica of the transaction log file in a different database.
You cannot create a copy of a transaction log file, Although, you can create the backup of your database and restore it in another location with another name and then you can detach it.