Repair Suspect SQL Database in SQL Server 2003, 2005, 2008, 2012

Steps to Repair Suspect SQL Database in an Easy Way

SQL database server is a creation and manipulation program that is developed by Microsoft. It is a relational database management system, which can store and retrieve data as per users request. The programming language can be used to handle this server is known as Structured Query Language. SQL is used to create large databases that can save data in a tabular form. Generally, there are so many errors and bugs created by Microsoft SQL Server. One such problem is the database going into Suspect Mode. This becomes a very sensitive issue and it cannot be resolved by any manual techniques. Therefore, in this blog, we are going to discuss different approaches to recover the database in detail. Before that, let us explore methods to repair suspect SQL database in SQL 200, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2012. The recovery solutions include the manual procedure and an automated solution i.e. SQL Database Recovery Software.

Reasons For SQL Server Suspect Database

During startup, SQL database Server tries to obtain some exclusive lock on the most important files of the server. At times no other application can access that data from SQL database when the server is online. Even though sometimes all these device files can be used by another processor may be missing. In such situations, many errors are generated and the database has gone into suspect mode. Go through some probable reasons for a suspect SQL database:

• The devices are inaccessible to the server where database log files can be kept. This might be caused by any corruption in the hard disk sector or partition.
• Some files are missing and could not be found. There can be multiple causes for Suspect SQL database. In a while, any malicious malware or virus attack may be deleted server files.
• Another reason for suspect mode is due to SQL server crashes in the middle of the data transaction. If a transaction that updates the value of a large database and it can be stopped midway, there can be some changes made to particular value and not others. This might cause corruption in transaction log files and many errors are generated.
• Some other application may handle the server’s device files for preventing access to specific data files. As a result, this issue indicates while opening the SQL database and connecting with it. Most of an antivirus block files that they consider problematic. There may be some file corruption caused by a malware infection that scanners start to repair and fix.
• One another cause for a suspect database is corruption in the transaction logs caused due to the abnormal/improper shutdown of a local machine.
• There might be errors generated due to the limited disc space or hard drive of the computer system.

How to Repair Suspect SQL Database Manually?

There are several modes that define the state in which the database server files are available. The separate procedure is implemented to work in any mode. There are certain modes such as offline mode, online mode, data restoration mode, data recovery mode, emergency mode and so on. Another one is Suspect Mode in SQL server. This mode indicates an issue with primary file groups. After entering this type of mode, the database is inaccessible and data within it could not be recovered. Alternative recovery operations need to be implemented and can be connected to the database server. Some alternatives to repair suspect SQL database in SQL 2003, 2005, 2008, 2012 have been discussed below:

• Enter an Emergency Mode for gaining access to the SQL Server database. This mode provides read-only access to the administrator to troubleshoot the database in an emergency.

ALTER DATABASE database_name SET EMERGENCY

• Having gained access to SQL database, run the Consistency Check on a master database file. This kind of checks for all logical as well as physical errors within the SQL database.

DBCC CHECKDB (‘dbName’)

• After that, move to the Single User Mode and rollback any type of transaction that may not be completed successfully.

ALTER DATABASE dbName SET SINGLE_USER WITH ROLLBACK IMMEDIATE

• Now, if certain errors are found during DBCC check, then you need to repair them by using repair_rebuild, repair_allow_data_loss, and repair_fast.

DBCC CheckDB (‘dbName’, REPAIR_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS)

• Finally, move back to the Multi-User Mode and verify the connection of database server.

ALTER DATABASE dbName SET MULTI_USER

Automated Solution to Recover SQL Database in Suspect Mode

If the above-stated approach fails, users can take help of a reliable third party tool i.e., SQL Recovery Software. It is designed in such a way to remove corruption from SQL Server database. Moreover, it is strong enough to retrieve both primary as well as secondary database files without any risk of data loss.

Final Words

SQL Server is the most widely used database management application that helps to store and retrieve data. There are different errors encountered by many users while using the SQL database server. Some of it may have to be rectified using manual approaches, others may not. One such problem is the Suspect Mode. Advanced SQL users may find it difficult to access data or connect to the database server once it goes into a suspect mode. In this blog, we have covered certain reasons for the suspect SQL server database. Also, we have discussed both manual and automated solution to repair suspect SQL database in an efficient way.