This article takes you through some practical steps you can take to repair damaged Oracle DBF files and keep your database running.
Even after you’ve taken the necessary precautionary measures, it’s possible to find your database files corrupt. Now, you don’t want to get stuck and risk losing data when Oracle DBF files get corrupt. So, it’s advisable to learn a few tricks to help you recover your database.
1. Use Oracle Commands
Oracle comes with recovery manager (RMAN) commands that you may run to identify and repair corrupted DBF files. These commands can find backed up data and use it to restore damaged files. The beauty of these commands is that they enable you to identify which blocks of a file are corrupt. This makes your work easy and helps avoid tempering with the rest of the database.
As you troubleshoot your files, make sure you check for both physical and logical damage. It’s also important to make sure that you write the proper syntax on your scripts. This is the only way your commands will be executed. Some of these RMAN commands that detect which parts of your file are corrupt are VALIDATE and RESTORE VALIDATE. Other ways used to identify corrupt sections of Oracle DBF files include error messages and alert logs.
When you identify the corrupt blocks of your files, you may use the BLOCKRECOVER command to restore them. It’s important to note that this command may be not effective where the number of damage blocks is large or unknown. This is because the command is meant for repairing databases where limited offline is required.
2. Use Oracle DBMS_REPAIR Utility
This is an inbuilt utility in Oracle that identifies and repairs damaged blocks on database files. To execute it, you will need to script commands for six key procedures. These include admin_tables creation, check-object, dump_orphan_keys, fix_corrupt_blocks, rebuild_freelists, and skip_corrupt_blocks. To master these procedures, refer to the relevant documentation at the Oracle help center.
3. Use Automated Oracle DBF Files Recovery Tools
While the above Oracle commands may work, they are manual and require multiple steps to accomplish. They also require a good mastery of the relevant scripts. A simple typo will prevent the commands from executing. This will require you to troubleshoot each command which can be a painstaking exercise, especially if the error isn’t that obvious.
Another shortcoming of using these commands is they require an individual who has mastered the art of writing database scripts. This is where automated repair and recovery tools for Oracle DBF files come in handy. In particular, DataNumen Oracle Recovery tool is designed to make your work easy and stress-free.
First, its user interface is friendly and easy to navigate. Each tab is well-labeled so that even the average IT specialist can operate the software just like a pro. It features file search functionality. This allows you to browse through the storage device on your local computer, especially, if you don’t know exactly where the file is located. Other features that come with this software include drag & drop and batch processing of corrupt files which improve your productivity. It’s also compatible with all versions of Oracle and can run on any computer powered by Windows.
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