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Copying data from test server database

Brian Peasland1 EXPERT RESPONSE FROM: Brian Peasland1

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QUESTION POSED ON: 08 May 2006
My database machine crashed recently, a Windows 2000 server. Since it was a test server, data is not that important. But I wanted to get back the data used. It was not in archive mode. How can I easily copy that data? After installing the OS and Oracle into another drive of the same machine, if I copy some files from the previous Oracle installation (I don't know which), will it work as previously? I have knowledge of exporting data into dump files, importing, etc. Please help.

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I assume that since the "data is not important," you do not have a backup of the database. But you are now attempting to restore that data, so it must be important to you, otherwise, you would just start from scratch. If our next steps work, then you should implement a solid backup and recovery routine to protect your data. You can always reinstall and reconfigure software, but in most cases, it is impossible to get your data back without good backups.

If you have access to the old disk drive(s) of the Windows server, you may be able to get your data back, but there is a risk this procedure will fail, in which case you are out of luck.

On the disk drive, look for the database datafiles, the control files and the online redo logs. Typically, these files are in a default location. Look for a file similarly called "system01.dbf" (the SYSTEM tablespace), "control01.ctl" (one of the control files) and "redo01.log" (one of the online redo logs). You will find other files in this directory too. Copy these files somewhere safe as this is the only copy of your database.

On your rebuilt Windows server, create an empty database. Give the database the same name that your old database was called. Use the same exact directory structure you previously used. Once the database has been created, shut it down. Overwrite the new database with your old database files. Windows will now think that this is the database that you just created. Start up the database. When your server crashed, the files were left in an inconsistent state. When you start the database, Oracle will recognize this and automatically use the information in the online redo logs to restore the database to the last good consistent state before the crash. This is called crash recovery. If this all works, and you can open your database for business, shut it down immediately and take a good backup!!! Your data appears to be more important than initially presumed, so a good backup and recovery strategy is vital.


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