There might be plenty of reasons why users want to extract data from SQL database files. Maybe your database files are corrupted or damaged , or your sql database system is infected for virus or malware attack. So it is a good idea to clean up your system timely. The fact that Microsoft SQL Server does not provide any in-built functionality to repair or restore a corrupted SQL Server database.

In this article , we are going to discuss all the possible reasons and solutions to retrieve data from SQL database without any hassle.

Why One Wants to Extract Data From SQL Database ?

There are several reasons why users want to retrieve data from SQL databases. Here are some common reasons:

Backup and recovery
Data Migration
Data sharing
Development and testing
Data sharing
Data Transformation

Method # 1 Extract Data from Database Using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) Manually

If you want to extract data from SQL Server database files then you need to follow the below mentioned steps carefully .

1. Run the SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) on your Windows system.
2. Next ,Right-Click on the Database under Object Explorer section & Click on Attach from the context menu.
3. In the Attach Databases Windows, click on the Add button.
4. Here , Browse the Location of the MDF file and Select the File then hit on OK.
5. Now, the details of the database will appear on the screen. After this, Click on OK.

Method #2 Extract data from SQL files & Restore it.

Users can also extract data from SQL database files by using T-SQL script. To accomplish this, run the attached script.

CREATE DATABASE testdatabase ON

(FILENAME = ‘C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL12.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\DATA\testdatabase.mdf’)

FOR ATTACH_REBUILD_LOG

Also Read : How to repair database stuck in suspect mode

Method # 3 Simple Way to Extract Data From SQL Database

On the other hand, the aforementioned manual method is a very time-consuming and error-prone way to retrieve data from SQL database. We suggest trying out the SysTools SQL Database Recovery Software to solve this issue. This utility helps to repair and restore corrupted or damaged SQL Server database. It is one of the trusted and reliable solution to export data from SQL database.

Moreover , it helps to recover corrupted , damaged , inaccessible or broken database files MDF (Master Database File) or NDF (Secondary Database file). Also, it is a 100% safe and secure way to import MDF database such as tables , rules, triggers, views , functions and many more. The software is capable enough to fix all the SQL Server database issues with only a few simple clicks.

To quickly extract data from SQL database using a specialized software, adhere to the steps listed below:

Step-1. Download and run the tool on your Windows machine.

Step-2. Then, Add the database file from which you want to extract and click on the Open button.
Step-3. Afterward, Choose either Quick or Advance scan mode as per level of database corruption to extract files from SQL databases.
Step-4. Now, Preview the complete database stored in the Master Database File (MDF), then, click on the Export option to extract Data from SQL Server database files.
Step-5. At last, select the Export option (SQL Server Database, SQL Compatible Scripts, or CSV file format) as per your need and then click on the Export button.

Additional Features of the Aforementioned Tool:

It can recover and repair corrupted or damaged SQL Server database
Support various versions of SQL Server database including 2022 , 2019 , 2017 , 2016 and previous versions.
It helps to export the recovered data to a new existing database.
Provide two scanning options : Quick or Advanced mode as per the level of corruption in SQL Server database.
Capable enough to recover multiple databases in a batch process.
Recover specific database objects like tables , triggers, views , stored procedures, function and many more.

Conclusion

In this article, we have covered both manual and automated solutions to extract data from SQL database. The manual approach is time consuming and there’s no guarantee of data security. We recommend you to try the recovery tool , it helps you to recover and repair corrupted databases in SQL Server. In addition, this utility is compatible with all the SQL Server versions including 2022 , 2019 , 2017 and earlier versions.

Also Read : How to Recover A Stored Procedure in SQL?