No full database backup specified (?!)

[rdalton]

I've copied a backup of the database and log files to another server and installed the database. (because of the locking problems, i'm not comfortable running this on a production server)

When i try to look at the log files, I get a High Severity error 'No full database backukp specified. Sql Log Rescue may not be able to fully recover all data'.

I've tried including the full backup file in the file list and not including it in the file list. It gives me the same error either way.

How can I read the log file?

[Brian Donahue]

Hello,

If you do not want to analyze a live log file on a production server, there is a bit of a procedure that you need to follow. First of all, you need a collection of backup files: The last full backup and all of the log backups up to the current time.

First, restore only the full backup to the offline server so that the database is operational. Next, start Log Rescue and point it at the database. Next, add all of the backup files (starting at the latest FULL that you had just restored and then all of the log files afterwards).

Start the analysis. Log Rescue will now show you all of the transactions contained inside the transaction log backups (rather than the live log).
_________________
Brian Donahue
Technical Support
Red Gate Software Ltd.
44 (0)870 160 0037 ext 8521
US and CAN 1-866-RED GATE ext 8521

[rdalton]

Same error. I'm using 1.0 rather than 1.1 of log explorer because 1.1 gives me a program error.

Can I restore differential backups or just the full?
Would changing the database .mdf and .ldf files cause a problem?
do i need a specific version of sqlbackup?
Would it work better if i ran it on the live database?

[rdalton]

i uncompressed all the backup files to see if that was the problem and it let me continue and recognized everything but while it's processing the logs it blows up with

redgate.logrescue.ui.exe = common language runtime debuging services
application has generated an exception that could not be handled

process id = 0xd58(3416) thread id = 0xx74c(11868)

I can't debug because i don't have anything installed.

am i looking at too many log files?
will the 1.1 version fix this? (i don't think so because i was getting this in the 1.1 but that was before i uncompressed everything)

[rdalton]

I was loading the files one at a time and got a

Index was outside the bounds of the array

[rdalton]

it took about 5 files before i got that error and it give me that error on all subsequent files.

[Brian Donahue]

Are these SQL Backup log backup files or native (MTF) files, or perhaps a combination of both? There could be some corrupt backup headers.
_________________
Brian Donahue
Technical Support
Red Gate Software Ltd.
44 (0)870 160 0037 ext 8521
US and CAN 1-866-RED GATE ext 8521