FAQ - Frequently Asked Question list - Answer

Question: How to recover MS SQL Server database from several files?

Answer:

Recovering one MS SQL Server database out of several source files

An MS SQL Server database consists of one or more files. Files can be of one of three types: main data file (the default extension is mdf), secondary data file (the default extension is ndf) and a transaction log file (the default extension is ldf). To recover data with SQL Server Recovery Toolbox, you should specify the path to the main data file and all secondary data files. You can do it using the Open File dialog box.

If your database consists of only the main data file and one or several transaction log files, you should select only the main data file (see fig. 1)

Figure 1

If your database consists of only the main data file, one or several secondary data files and one or several transaction log files, you should select the main data file (the .mdf extension) and also all secondary data files (the .ndf extension) (see fig. 2).