Resolve SQL Database is Showing Recovery Pending Error

Approved By Aswin Vijayan

Published On November 29th, 2021

Reading Time 4 Minutes Reading

Category sql server

Summary: This blog outlines possible reasons behind SQL Database is Showing Recovery Pending error. It also describes the manual process to resolve this issue, the challenges associated with the manual approach, and the best alternative to overcome all those challenges.

SQL Server is one of the most advanced databases which maintains the integrity of data. Being an SQL Server user you must be known to the errors it might encounter. One of the most common errors is Recovery pending state in SQL Server. If single or multiple core files such as MDF/NDF are corrupted then the SQL Server database is likely to be damaged.

According to the level of damage that can occur due to the inconsistency of the core files, the database will be marked with different states.

1. Online State: SQL database in the online state is available for the end-users and functions normally. In this state, the primary filegroup of the database is online although the undo phase of recovery is not completed.

2. Suspect State: In this state due to the corruption of the log file, the transaction completion will get affected which may lead to database failure.

3. Recovery pending: When the requirement of database recovery is there but can not be initiated due to some issues then the SQL Server will run into this state.

Note: The user may also read this post to know how to Recover SQL database from Suspect Mode

Possible Reasons Why MS SQL Database is Showing Recovery Pending Issue

There are several reasons behind why SQL Database is Showing Recovery Pending. Some of them are listed below:

Corruption of MDF file
Logfile corruption
Hardware failure
Improper shutdown of SQL Server
Lack of memory space

Now you know why SQL database is showing recovery pending error, you can recover the SQL database by using manual solutions or by some professional SQL Database Recovery Software

Download SQL Recovery Purchase Now

Manual Methods to Fix Recovery Pending Issue in SQL Server

1. Set the Database to Emergency Mode and Start a forceful recovery

Step1: Perform the following queries-

ALTER DATABASE [DBName] SET EMERGENCY > GO
ALTER DATABASE [DBName] set single_user > GO
DBCC CHECKDB ([DBName], REPAIR_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS) WITH ALL_ERRORMSGS > GO

ALTER DATABASE [DBName] set multi_user > GO

Step2: The Emergency mode restricts the database to READ_ONLY mode. Only database administrators can access it during emergency mode.

Step3: The database will come out of the emergency mode automatically.

#Method 2. Set the database into emergency mode. First, detach the main database and then re-attach it.

Step1. Run the following commands:

ALTER DATABASE [DBName] SET EMERGENCY;
ALTER DATABASE [DBName] set multi_user
EXEC sp_detach_db ‘[DBName]’
EXEC sp_attach_single_file_db @DBName = ‘[DBName]’, @physname = N'[mdf path]’

Step2. The above steps will automatically dispose the corrupt log files and rebuilt the new ones.

Note: Before using any of the methods to repair, make sure to create the backup of the database that you want to recover. Also, these are the technical procedure, so if you do not have that much technical knowledge then you should not take the risk to perform them.

For recovering the database from the “Recovery Pending” mode by using these manual approaches it is mandatory to have technical knowledge about how to run these SQL commands properly. If you are not an experienced person to deal with SQL errors then it is recommended to go for a reliable and secure approach.

Tackle SQL Database is Showing Recovery Pending Error Efficiently

In that case, you should use SQL Recovery software which can recover your database from “recovery pending” mode in quick and easy steps. This software helps you to fix any type of corruption issue.

Prominent Features of SQL Database Recovery Tool:

Repairs corrupt MDF and NDF files.
Recovers deleted SQL server database data
Provides a preview of the recovered data and the deleted records.
Recover corrupted MDF file and the database from suspect mode.
It allows you to export the recovered data to the SQL Server Database, CSV file, or as SQL compatible scripts.
Is compatible with SQL Server 2019, 2017, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2008 / 2008 R2, 2005, 2000.

Final Words

In this blog, we have discussed the SQL Database is Showing Recovery Pending. Also, we have seen the approaches to resolve this issue. You can use a manual solution or an automated solution both. But it is advised that if you do not have experience in resolving SQL errors then you should go for a professional approach so as to avoid further complications.