Sometimes, it is safe to use specialized database recovery utilities than to the command-line ones

'DBCC CHECKDB' is an inbuilt SQL Server utility to repair corrupt database and restore the data. However, in certain situations, when the SQL Server database has been corrupt to a larger extent, the 'DBCC CHECKDB' utility with some particular repairing option repairs the database with the cost of the data in the database. Following such a repairing operation with DBCC CHECKDB, you may loose your precious data in the repaired database. Thus, if the database has been severely corrupt, it is suggested to take the help of any reliable third-party SQL recovery software to do the job

Among many database applications in the current market, Microsoft SQL Server is one of the mostly used ones. For its reliability and usefulness, this relational database application is used by a large number of industries as well as individual entrepreneurs. But, as like any other database application, even your well maintained SQL Server database may get corrupt at times.

Usually, there can be a number of reasons behind the corruption of the SQL Server database, including file system corruption, virus/malware infection, operating system malfunction etc. In case of a corrupt SQL Server, you fail to access your data in the database and need to repair the same for regaining access.

Microsoft has provides a command line utility, 'DBCC CHECK' to repair the corrupt SQL Server database. The utility first scans the corrupt database and provides information regarding the minimum level of repair, which can fix the problem. Below are the statements, either of which you may receive from DBCC CHECK, after completion of the scanning process:

“CHECKDB found 38 allocation errors and 137 consistency errors in database ‘AmpDB’. repair_allow_data_loss is the minimum repair level for the errors found by DBCC CHECKDB (AmpDB).”

or

“CHECKDB found 38 allocation errors and 137 consistency errors in database ‘AmpDB’. repair_rebuild is the minimum repair level for the errors found by DBCC CHECKDB (AmpDB).”

In case of the second statement, where the minimum repair level is 'repair_rebuild', the corruption is known to be limited within the non-clustered indexes and you can easily drop the corrupt portion of the database, without any fear of data loss. But, when the minimum corruption level is suggest as 'repair_allow_data_loss', if you try repairing the corrupt SQL database, then as the name suggests, there will be ample chance of data loss.

In such situations, it is better to take the help of any advanced SQL Server recovery utility rather than 'DBCC CHECKDB'. These third-party utilities are designed with powerful as yet risk-free algorithms to repair the corrupt database and recover the inaccessible data. Moreover, the utilities come with interactive graphical user interfaces and are more easy-to-use in comparison to the command-line utilities.