Summary: Several factors like faulty hardware, bugs in MySQL software, server crash, etc., can turn a MySQL database corrupt. A corrupt database becomes inaccessible, and you might get errors when trying to open the database. This blog will outline the errors you may encounter due to MySQL database corruption. Also, it will discuss the steps to repair the MySQL database using phpMyAdmin easily.
When trying to open a corrupt MySQL database, you may receive any of these errors:
Irrespective of the error message you encounter, you must repair the database to restore all its components.
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Note: We will be accessing phpMyAdmin using XAMPP application for Windows or open the url ‘http://localhost/phpmyadmin/’ to start using it. Or, you may access phpMyAdmin using cPanel.
Note:To repair a specific table, check only that table. In our case, we’ve selected two tables ‘Customer’ that we want to repair and recover.
The phpMyAdmin will run the query for the MySQL tables. On successful completion of the repair process, a message indicating that the database tables are repaired will appear.
Note:You cannot repair InnoDB table(s) using the ‘REPAIR TABLE’ option. On trying to repair an InnoDB table, you will get an error “the storage engine doesn’t support repair.” To fix a corrupted InnoDB table, refer to this blog.
While the above method might work, it has certain shortcomings. It only allows repairing a single database at a time which can be time-consuming. Also, fixing corruption in a large database may require additional time, thereby exceeding database downtime. Further, the method may fail to repair a severely corrupt MySQL database. And, forcing InnoDB recovery with a value greater than ’4’ involves data loss risk.
Consider using a specialized MySQL database repair tool like Stellar Repair for MySQL to reduce database downtime and get back all the data. The tool can repair severely corrupt MySQL databases. Also, it supports repairing both MyISAM as well as InnoDB tables. In addition, the software also helps recover all the data while preserving the original table structure and formatting.
Steps to repair MySQL databases using the software are as follows:
Open your MySQL folder and view the repaired file.
This blog discussed the process of repairing a MySQL database using phpMyAdmin. But using this method has some downsides. It only supports repairing MyISAM tables. You need to separately force_innodb_recovery to recover data from corrupt InnoDB tables. Further, you can repair databases one by one. You can overcome these limitations by using Stellar Repair for MySQL software. It helps repair both MyISAM and InnoDB tables. Also, it saves time by allowing you to fix multiple databases simultaneously.
Charanjeet is a Technical Content Writer at Stellar®who specializes in writing about databases, e-mail recovery, and e-mail migration solutions. She loves researching and developing content that helps database administrators, organizations and novices to fix multiple problems related to MS SQL and MySQL databases and Microsoft Exchange.
