Summary: This blog discusses the common causes behind the ‘SQL Server database stuck in recovery mode’ issue. Also, it describes how to troubleshoot and fix the issue. If the recovery process fails to bring the database online, try using an SQL recovery tool to regain access to the database – without prolonged downtime.
When restarting SQL Server or services after SQL database shutdown, server crash, or database corruption, the database automatically goes into ‘recovering’ state. The database becomes online after completion of the recovery process. However, if the database is taking too long to recover, it is important to know why the database is stuck in recovery.
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You can check SQL Server error log to know the cause behind the database stuck in RECOVERY mode issue. Common causes behind the issue includes:
Following are some simple troubleshooting tips to resolve the SQL Server database in recovery mode issue:
Note: Running ‘RESTORE with Recovery’ will make the database go through the same recovery steps again. Avoid this option if you have a large database.
Execute the following query to bring your database back online:
| RESTORE DATABASE db_name WITH RECOVERY; |
The query will rollback any uncommitted transactions and bring the database out of recovery mode.
If you’ve too many VLFs inside the transaction log, resulting in slow database recovery, applying Microsoft fixes may help.
Run DBCC CHECKDB on the problematic database. If it reports consistency errors, you must repair the database using the minimum level of repair option. For more information, read this: https://www.stellarinfo.com/blog/how-to-repair-sql-database-using-dbcc-checkdb-command/
If these troubleshooting tips fail, try resolving the issue using the solutions discussed in the next section.
Following are the two solutions you can use to fix the issue:
Note: Skip to the next solution if the backup is obsolete or corrupt.
If database recovery process seems stuck for ages, try restoring the database from an updated backup copy. To do so, follow these steps:
Note: Restoring a large database containing multiple tables can take a lot of time.
If backup is not available or you want to quickly restore the database, using a SQL recovery tool, such as Stellar Repair for MS SQL may help. The software repairs the .mdf/.ndf files and restores the database to its original form.
Check out this video to understand how the software works:
This article discussed about SQL database is stuck in ‘Recovering’ state. It also outlined the common causes behind the SQL Server database in recovery mode issue and troubleshooting tips to fix the issue. If these tips doesn’t help, implementing the solutions may help bring the DB to a consistent state. A SQL database recovery tool can come in handy when everything else fails to restore the database.
Charanjeet is a Technical Content Writer at Stellar®who specializes in writing about databases, e-mail recovery, and e-mail migration solutions. She loves researching and developing content that helps database administrators, organizations and novices to fix multiple problems related to MS SQL and MySQL databases and Microsoft Exchange.
