If you're a SQL Server database administrator, you may have encountered the
dreaded "recovery pending" status on one of your databases. This can be a
frustrating and difficult problem to fix, but there are a few methods you can
try to get your database back up and running smoothly.
One common cause of recovery pending is a lack of available log space. When a
database is in recovery, it needs to have enough log space to roll forward any
uncommitted transactions and bring the database back to a consistent state. If
there isn't enough log space available, the recovery process will be unable to
be complete and the database will remain in recovery pending.
To fix this problem, you can try increasing the size of the log file. This will give the recovery process more space to work with and may allow it to complete successfully. To increase the size of the log file, you can use the ALTER DATABASE command in SQL Server Management Studio.
Another potential cause of recovery pending is a hardware or software failure. If the database was in the process of being recovered when the failure occurred, it may be left in a "stuck" state, unable to complete the recovery process. In this case, you may need to restore the database from a recent backup.
To restore the database from a backup, you'll need to have a recent backup available. If you don't have a backup, you may need to perform a manual recovery using the last available transaction log. This is a more advanced technique, and should only be attempted by experienced database administrators.
Once you have your backup, you can use the RESTORE DATABASE command in SQL Server Management Studio to restore the database to its previous state. This will overwrite any changes that were made since the backup was taken, but it will also allow the database to come out of recovery pending and return to a consistent state.
In some cases, recovery pending may be caused by corruption in the database. If this is the case, you'll need to perform a repair operation on the database to fix the corruption and allow the recovery process to complete. You can do this using the REPAIR_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS option in the DBCC CHECKDB command. The following script will set the database in EMERGENCY mode and then repair the database using DBCC CHECKDB.
ALTER DATABASE [DatabaseName] SET EMERGENCY;
GO
ALTER DATABASE [DatabaseName] set single_user
GO
DBCC CHECKDB ([DatabaseName], REPAIR_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS) WITH ALL_ERRORMSGS;
GO
ALTER DATABASE [DatabaseName] set multi_user
GO
While this option will fix the corruption and allow the recovery process to complete, it may also result in the loss of some data. As a result, it should only be used as a last resort, and you should always make sure to have a recent backup available before attempting this operation.
Overall, recovery pending in a SQL Server database can be a frustrating and difficult problem to fix. However, by following the methods outlined above, you can get your database back up and running smoothly, and avoid the loss of valuable data.
