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Home » HowTo » SQL Server » How to Restore Only MDF File From Backup File – Get All Your Answers

How to Restore Only MDF File From Backup File – Get All Your Answers

  author
Written By Andrew Jackson
Anuraag Singh
Approved By Anuraag Singh  
Published On December 23rd, 2024
Reading Time 4 Minutes Reading

How to Restore Only MDF File From Backup File

Microsoft SQL server is widely used and most preferred relational database management system. It is a very efficient and reliable tool to manage critical data of most of the organizations. SQL server stores the data in MDF also called primary database files, NDF secondary database files, LDF transactional log file and Bak which is also called backup file. When the user wants to access the data stored in the SQL tables then the user runs queries for the desired information. But when the users face critical database crashes then data backups act as a ray of hope.

So in this article, we will discuss how to restore only MDF file from a backup file. Also in case what to do, SQL .bak file data also got corrupted. In that case, the user can try the automated solution to resolve this issue. Let us know SQL server restore MDF file only from BAK file process with the help of manual method.

Table of Content

Know How to Restore MDF File From.BAK File Manually

Here is a step by step process which helps the user to restore only MDF file from backup file.

    • Step 1: First the user has to connect to the database server using Microsoft SQL server management studio. After that click on the database node on the left panel and then right-click on the Restore database.

restore database

    • Step 2: Now select the destination or source

database

    • Step 3: In this step, the user has to browse the Bak file from the device and add the file to execute restore. And click on Ok.

ss3

    • Step 4: Now select the backup sets to restore and click OK to begin the process.

ss4

  • Step 5: Once the restore MDF file from the .bak file process gets completed. A pop up will display which states that the database restored successfully. Finally, click on Ok to recover SQL database from MDF.

ss5

Important Note: In case if the user has .bak file in the existing data then the user will have to restore the .bak file to the different database.

Automated Workaround to Restore MDF File From.BAK File

If you have tried the manual solution and you won’t be able to perform this task. Maybe there is corruption occur in the SQL server .bak file also. So, in that case, the user can try SysTools SQL BAK File Recovery software. By using this utility the user can recover and preview Tables, views, stored, triggers, stored procedure. It also helps the user to recover MDF And NDF files saved within the SQL files. No file size limitations are associated with this utility. Moreover, this utility comes with a simple GUI so that everyone can easily use this software.

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Step-1. Launch the Software & then Hit the Open button to proceed.

click on Open button

Step-2. Select the BAK files to add in the software for further operations.

select backup files

Step-3. Select the Destination as SQL Server to restore the MDF file data.

select destination

Step-4. Finally, Hit the Export/Save button to complete the operation easily.

recover SQL database from MDF

Important Note: Also if the user has corrupted MDF files then the user can try SQL MDF Recovery tool to recover crucial data from SQL server easily.

Final Words

In this article, we have discussed how to restore only MDF file from backup file with the help of manual as well as with the help of an automated solution. In case the user won’t be able to perform this task with the help of manual methods then the user can take the help of automated solution to perform this task in a safe and reliable way.

FAQs

Q-1. Can you restore An MDF file?

Ans: Yes, there are both manual as well as automated solutions available for users to restore an MDF file. However, the automated SQL Recovery Tool is quite reliable & better than the manual ones.

Q-2. How do I extract MDF files from a BAK file?

Ans: Follow the 5 steps below to extract MDF from BAK using SSMS:

  1. Open SSMS > RIght Click Database > Click Restore Database.
  2. Browse and Select Source and Destination Platforms.
  3. Browse the Backup File & Click on the OK Button.
  4. Select the Backup set from the list & Hit OK.
  5. Click OK on the pop-up message to finish.

Q-3. Can we restore a database without an ldf file?

Ans: Yes, if users have BAK file & MDF files, it’s possible for them to restore only MDF file from the backup file.

  author

By Andrew Jackson

I am SQL DBA and SQL Server blogger too. I like to share about SQL Server and the problems related to it as well as their solution and also I do handle database related user queries, server or database maintenance, database management, etc. I love to share my knowledge with SQL Geeks.