How to Attach MDF File Without LDF File In SQL Server Database

This article explains the various methods of How to attach MDF File without LDF File In SQL Server Database. It includes two manuals, which use T-SQL Script and SQL Server Management Studio. The final one is a professional method,i.e., SQL Database Recovery– It allows users to restore the MDF file to SQL Server without attaching any LDF files. 

MS SQL Server is a relational database management system (RDBMS) managed by Microsoft. It is designed to store the database of transaction processes, business intelligence, application data and others. It supports ANSI, the standard SQL (Structured Query Language) language, and it uses three types of files to store multiple database data. Let’s first know about them in detail.

• MDF file:- It stands for Main Database File, formerly a primary data file to contain all the information in a SQL database. It stores all the user data and other files in the database. Well, each database has its MDF file that manages all the data of that database.
• NDF file:- NDF file is a secondary database file, which is optional for users to store data. If your MDF database file gets oversized, you can move your data to the NDF file for further use. It is spread across multiple disks on your SQL server by putting each file on a different disk drive. 
• LDF file:- It stands for Log Database File and stores all the log information that can be used further to recover the database. There must be one log file for each database, and if the size increases, then the SQL server may store database backup in more than one file.

Here is all about the SQL Server and its files. But sometimes, users face difficulties in managing these files, and it may also be possible that the file is getting corrupted or damaged. In that case, you won’t be able to attach files to the SQL server; either issue occurs in MDF, NDF or LDF files. Recently, a user has a query that they can’t attach MDF File in the SQL Server database because their LDF File is corrupt or some data is missing, but they have a requirement to add an MDF file. Thus, let’s examine the process of attaching MDF without an LDF File.

Methods to Attach MDF File Without LDF File In SQL Server Database

This section contains the manual methods to restore MDF (master database) in SQL Server without LDF. The procedure to perform the solutions is easy and simple.

Method 1: Attach MDF Without LDF File Using T-SQL Script

You can easily restore MDF files in SQL Server without an LDF file, by following the given steps correctly:

1. Run the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.
2. Right-click on the SQL Server directory node and choose the New Query option from the list.
3. In the SQL query wizard, you have to enter the T-SQL script to attach MDF without the LDF file in SQL Server.
4. Once you have entered the same, click on the Execute option.
5. Finally, you will get the result as your MDF file is imported into SQL Server successfully.

Method 2: Add MDF file in SQL Server Using SQL Server Management Studio

SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) is an inbuilt environment for managing any SQL Server infrastructure and database. It also includes the option to attach an MDF file to the SQL server by removing the corrupt/damaged or missing data log files. Follow the below steps to perform the procedure carefully.

1. Run the SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).
2. Go to the Object explorer section, right-click on the database and select the Attach option.
3. You will find an Attach Databases wizard; click on the Add to add the SQL database file.
4. Select the .mdf file from the system and click OK.
5. In the next wizard, you will find that your MDF file is added along with the LDF file(not found state).
6. Opt for the Log file and click on the Remove button.
7. The log file is removed from the opening wizard.
8. At last, click on the OK button to attach the added MDF file.

Limitations of Manual Methods

• Users must have technical skills and knowledge while running the script.
• It is also possible that your MDF files get corrupted or damaged.
• The process is time-taken for users and requires time.
• The steps are lengthy for non-technical users.

Method 3: An Expert Solution to Attach MDF File Without LDF File In SQL Server Database

Aryson SQL Database Recovery Tool is an efficient utility to attach corrupt or healthy SQL database files(MDF) to an SQL server without adding a Log database file(LDF). The software is also competent enough to recover all the database data from corrupt or damaged SQL database files. You can add any of the files MDF/NDF/LDF and perform a smooth recovery process.

Steps to Attach MDF file Without LDF file

1. Download & launch MS SQL Database Recovery Software.
2. Click Open to browse the MDF file, either corrupt or healthy.
3. Choose the recovery mode according to your file and click Ok.
4. The scanning process is started on the browsed files.
5. Preview the details of a specific one and select the folders you restore.
6. Click on the Save SQL Data button.
7. Here, enter SQL Server account credentials and test the database connection.
8. Click on the OK button to attach MDF files data to SQL Server.

Conclusion

In this post, we discussed how to attach MDF File without LDF File in SQL Server Database. Here, we also learn about the SQL Server and its MDF, NDF and LDF file. Furthermore, we understand the working of two manual methods that help users to attach MDF files without LDF files. However, if the manual solution does not work for you, we suggest a third-party tool to use and attach .mdf to the SQL Server successfully.

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