What does it mean when a SQL Database is SUSPECT?

First rules about a database being in suspect mode:

• Do not trust anyone who just says follow these steps and it will always fix a SQL database that is SUSPECT.
• Do not listen to anyone who says run DBCC CHECKDB with REPAIR_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS without a good understanding that that will delete data.
• Do not run any program that will automatically repair the issue until you have a good understanding of why it is SUSPECT.
• Never detach a SUSPECT SQL Server database.

A SQL database that is SUSPECT implies that it was unable to completely start up after a shutdown. For instance, if the power was unplugged from the SQL Server while shutting down with open transactions that are currently being written to disk.

Causes:

• The database could be corrupt.
• Possibly out of disk space during recovery.
• File permissions could be causing the issue.

The most important thing to do is to find out where the issue is that is preventing the database from coming online. The place to start for that is the SQL Server log. Often overlooked the SQL Server log can give you the clues to find out what is broken that may be causing your database to be SUSPECT.

Once we understand where the problem is we can look at a variety of ways to fix it.

So… what about the rules? Well if you have broken one or more of the rules above and you are having trouble getting things running again, there are things that can be done.

More from Stedman Solutions:

Steve and the team at Stedman Solutions are here for all your SQL Server needs.
Contact us today for your free 30 minute consultation..
We are ready to help!