How To Resolve SQL Server Database Stuck In Restoring State?

What Does “SQL Server Database Stuck in Restoring State” Mean?

When restoring an SQL Server database, the restore process is not complete, and you are waiting for additional restore operations to continue. This is a state in which backup files can be applied in order until the database is usable. If the restore process fails or is improperly handled, then the database can remain indefinitely in this state and render the data within the database inaccessible.

Why does the SQL Server Stuck in Restoring State?

There can be multiple causes. It is important to understand the causes to prevent it from happening again in the future.

• Incomplete Restore Chain: If a restore command is executed without the WITH RECOVERY option, then your database will remain in the restoring state, waiting on the next restore.
• Network or Power Dismissal: Unplanned interruption of restore may cause the database to enter a partially restored state.
• Transaction Log Issues: Missing or corrupt log backups may cause the SQL database to hang during recovery.
• Human Error: Using the wrong restore options or restoring in the wrong sequence can mistakenly cause this issue.
• Corrupted Backup Files: If the backup files are corrupt, the restore process will not be able to complete successfully.

How to Resolve SQL Server Database Stuck in Restoring State 

You can attempt some manual methods before turning to an automated tool. Each method is dependent on the reason your SQL Server database is stuck in restoring status.

Method 1: Resolve SQL Database Stuck in Restoring State Error

If you’ve restored all of your backups and want to bring the database online, it’s merely a matter of writing one SQL command:

RESTORE DATABASE [Your_Database_Name] WITH RECOVERY;

Method 2: Check Restore Progress

Sometimes the restore is still running silently in the background. You can check the progress using this query:

SELECT command, percent_complete, start_time, estimated_completion_time, total_elapsed_time FROM sys.dm_exec_requests WHERE command LIKE ‘RESTORE%’;

Method 3: Force Database Recovery

If your restore process has frozen completely, use the following command to force recovery:

RESTORE DATABASE [Your_Database_Name] WITH RECOVERY;

Note: Use this command only if you are positive that you have restored all the required transaction logs. Otherwise, you will inadvertently leave the database in an inconsistent state. 

Method 4: Remove and Re-Restore the Database

If the above methods still have not been able to fix your stuck database, you are left with removing the database and restoring from a validated backup file. 

Detach or drop the stuck database:

DROP DATABASE [Your_Database_Name];

Re-restore it using:

RESTORE DATABASE [Your_Database_Name] FROM DISK = ‘C:\Backup\YourDatabase.bak’ WITH RECOVERY;

When Manual Methods Fail: Use SQL Recovery Tool

If your SQL Server Database Stuck in Restoring State after applying the above recommendations. It is probably because your backup or database file (.mdf or .ndf) is corrupted. When this is the case, any manual methods can be futile, or running more restore commands may result in further corruption. Hence, at this point, an automated solution, like an Aryson SQL Recovery Tool, is essential. This professional tool repairs and recovers the corrupted SQL database files (.mdf/.ndf) safely with no data loss.

Notable Characteristics of Aryson SQL Recovery Tool:

• Repair Damaged Databases: Quickly analyzes and repairs Primary (.mdf) and Secondary (.ndf) files.
• Also, can restore SQL Database from One Server to another
• No SQL Server: Restore data even if SQL Server is not installed.
• Recover Large Databases: Perfect for bulk and enterprise SQL data recovery.
• Preview Before Saving: Preview all recovered items to verify data integrity.
• Selective Recovery: Recover tables or objects only needed to save time and space.
• Export Options: Directly save data to SQL Server or export to a .sql script.

Simple Steps to Resolve the SQL Database in Restoring Mode:

1. Firstly, Download and Install the Aryson SQL Recovery Tool.
   
   


2. Open the Software and browse your damaged .mdf file.
   
   


3. Choose Quick Scan or Advanced Scan depending on the level of corruption.
   
   


4. Preview all recovered database items in the tree structure.
   
   


5. Choose the output option: either export to SQL Server or save as a script, and click OK.
   
   

Final Thoughts

An SQL Server Database Stuck in Restoring State can be a bit complex, but it won’t take you an impossible amount of time and effort to correct it. Whether you are dealing with an incomplete restore, data corruption, or a simple human error, you have a number of methods available to get your database operational again.

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