ApexSQL Recover is a SQL Server data recovery tool which recovers deleted and truncated data. It recovers objects and data lost due to drop operations, and recovers BLOBs as files. ApexSQL Recover can also be used to investigate transaction log files for DML and DDL changes as well as to rollback or replay any changes found in transaction log files and backups. Recovery with ApexSQL Recover is possible even without a full database backup and for databases in the “Simple recovery model” but only if the recovery information hasn’t been overwritten by SQL Server.
ApexSQL Recover is useful in the following scenarios:
Table records are gone
The table data that used to be there doesn’t exist anymore. You don’t know what has happened and have no valid database backups that contain the missing data. ApexSQL Recover allows you to read transaction log files and load auditing results to grid, where they can be investigated to see if some DML or DDL changes have caused loss of table records. Furthermore, since ApexSQL Recover cannot automatically determine how the records were lost and select the right option, other ApexSQL Recover data recovery options can be tried until the desired result is achieved and loss case identified and rolled back.
Someone accidentally deleted table records and they need to be recovered. You have no relevant database backup
A DELETE FROM <table_name> statement has been executed, or table records were deleted from a table data editor. In case you don’t have a database backup that contains the deleted records, ApexSQL Recover can help. It will read the database data and online transaction log files, and recover the deleted records, if enough information for recovery is found.
A table has been truncated and the records need to be recovered. You have no relevant database backup
A TRUNCATE TABLE <table_name> statement has been executed. ApexSQL Recover will search for the truncated records in the database data file and recover all records that haven’t been overwritten. The transaction log files cannot help here, as a TRUNCATE TABLE operation is not fully logged.
An incorrect table has been dropped, it has to be re-created and the records recovered
A DROP TABLE <table_name> statement has been executed, or a table has been dropped from an integrated development environment tool. There are 2 possible approaches to recover from this situation. In the first scenario you can use the “Data recovery – From a drop table operation” option in ApexSQL Recover which will offer you the highest possible success rate and allows users to drop structure, data or both. Second approach relies on reading transaction log files in order to replay changes and create and populate the table from scratch. Users can first replay CREATE TABLE <table_name> change to the database, and then replay all other DDL and DML changes and replay them historically against the table.
Files have been inadvertently deleted from a SharePoint database
Files such as images, Word, Excel, or PDF files stored on SharePoint are gone and you need to bring them back. You’ve checked the Recycle bin, but they are not there. SharePoint uses SQL Server databases and these files were stored in one of SQL Server tables as BLOBs. The “Data recovery – Deleted BLOBs” option can help here.
Images or other BLOB files have been deleted and need to be recovered
Images, varchar(max), nvarchar(max), varbinary (max), and ntext are Binary Large Object (BLOB) SQL Server data types. SQL Server doesn’t store them the same as other data types, so use the “Data recovery – Deleted BLOBs” option to recover them.
Table records from a database backup should be read quickly
The feature is placed in the Extract section, as this is not a recovery option. It saves time by reading the data directly from the backup making it unnecessary to restore a valid SQL server database backup. It creates a script, that creates the selected table, (this is optional) and inserts the table records, or re-creates the table and its records in a new database.
Someone accidentally dropped database objects or performed incorrect INSERT or UPDATE operations
Inadvertent or malicious changes may happen due to various reasons. ApexSQL Recover can be used to read information stored in the transaction log files and backups and roll these changes back and have objects and/or data returned to the original state as if the changes never affected the database in the first place.
