Rectifying Error 926 in MS SQL Server 2008 database

Are you facing problems in mounting a MS SQL Server 2008 database? Then, there are chances that the database (MDF file) is corrupt, which is why you are unable to access it. Such scenarios can occur due to various causes such as virus infections, power outages, damaged hardware components, etc. In such cases, you should find out the exact reason for database corruption and try to repair it. However, if you are not able to do so, then you should use a third-party SQL Server recovery software to perform MDF file recovery.

Consider a scenario wherein you have installed MS SQL Server 2008 on your system. When you try to open a particular database, it fails to open. The following error message is displayed, as a result.

“Database '%.*ls' cannot be opened. It has been marked SUSPECT by recovery. See the SQL Server error log for more information.”

Cause:

The root cause for such situation is that the database is marked as suspect, as is suggested in the message, and is corrupt. This is evident from the fact that it has not passed the recovery process that would have bring the database to a consistent state. It could have corrupted during the following situations:

• While starting the SQL Server instance

• When you were attaching a database

• When you were using the RESTORE database or RESTORE LOG procedures

Resolution:

To resolve this problem, you should perform the following methods:

• Check error log: You should check the error log and try to find out the exact cause of the error. Also, if SQL Server started after the failed recovery then check the previous error logs to know the reason of recovery failure.

• Look for hardware issues: You should check if the problem has occurred because of hardware malfunctioning such as regular I/O errors, damaged page, etc. In such cases, you should replace the hardware component and try to mount the database again.

• Restore from backup: If you have a clean and updated database backup, then you should restore the database from its backup.

• Run DBCC CHECKDB: If the backup is not clean or updated, then you should run the DBCC CHECKDB command, first without the repair clause to determine the extent of corruption. Then, you should run it with the suggested repair clause to repair the corrupted database.

However, if you still are not able to mount the SQL Server database even after performing the aforementioned methods, then you should use a third-party master database file recovery software to recover MDF file. Such SQL recovery tools are read-only in nature that do not overwrite the existing database while scanning.