How to View Transaction Log File of SQL Server

MS SQL Server is mainly used for storing data of the corporate employees or in some big organizations. But cyber crime is at boom these days and many organizations face problems in managing the SQL Server. Illegal activity of the former employee or the professional hacker can leak your SQL Server data. Therefore, it is better to keep an eye on all the transactions and activities that happen on the SQL server through a log file. But it is not an easy task to view Log File of SQL Server. There are some complex and as well as an easy methods to analyze the SQL Server Log File. The analysis of the LOG file will keep you updated with all the activities that take place on the SQL Server.

Methods for Viewing SQL Server Log File

There are three best methods through which you can open and analyze a Log file. Apply all of them and get your task done.

Use the SQL Server Management Studio

Before applying this method for viewing the Log file you must know that you’ll be able to see the log details of Audit Collection, Job History, SQL Server, Windows Events, Database Mail, SQL Server Agent, and Data Collection. Now, you should take a look at the steps that will help you to open the Log File.

Steps to Use Log File Viewer in SQL Server Management Studio

• Download and Open the SQL Server Management Studio on your PC.
• Now the Connect to Server Windows will appear in front of you.
• Enter the Name of the Server and the type of authentication and then click on connect.
• Now, the Object Explorer opens. Click on the Management.
• Then go to the SQL Server Logs option.
• Make a Right-Click on SQL Server Logs and point the cursor on View and then on SQL Server Log.
• Now you can see all the contents of the SQL Log File in front of you.

Use the Function fn_dblog()

You can use this function to extract all the data from the Log File of the SQL Server. This method can be used on any version of MS SQL. Let’s throw some light on the steps to apply this method of viewing the SQL Log File.

• Firstly, open the T-SQL to view the values of the table.
• Use the update command and alter the table.
• Now you must view the table using the Select query and this will modify the table.
• Now run the fn_dblog() function according to your needs.
• You can analyze the whole SQL Log file through this technique.

Both the methods mentioned above will help you to view Log File of SQL Server when SQL SERVER Could not Open Error Log File. But as you can see that the above methods are quite complex and they need a lot of technical expertise. If you are a non-techy user, then it would be difficult for you to apply the above steps. So the easiest way is to use a third-party professional tool. One such tool known to me is the SQL Log Analyzer that will help you to view all the transactions that have taken place in the Log file of the SQL Server.

Approach 3: Using MySQL Workbench

In this approach, you first need to have the backup of MySQL files and must have MySQL server installed on your device. This approach will only work for MYISAM tables and not for InnoDB tables.

SQL Log Analyzer

As I have already told you that the manual methods are quite complex so you can try the SQL Log Analyzer Software by Aryson. This tool can deal with all the queries like INSERT, DELETE, and UPDATE of the SQL Server. This software will help you to read all the details of the Log File and you can keep an eye on all the transactions that took place earlier.
Sometimes the manual methods also fail due to the corruption of the Log file. The manual methods will not work on a corrupt Log file. Therefore, I have suggested the best solution to deal with the corrupt Log file as well. This professional tool will help you to read the Log file of the SQL server without any error. Firstly, it repairs the log file and then helps to display all the information present in it.

Conclusion

I have told you the best efficient method that will help you to view Log file of SQL Server. Now it is up to you to make a choice. For a non-techy user, it would be quite difficult to apply the manual methods. In such a case you must stick on the professional method that is the SQL Log Analyzer Software.

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