I'm not familiar with these files .MDF & .LDF. I want to convert both to MySQL format or .CSV.
Let me know how can be done. Any tools or scripts can convert it.
They're both SQL Server files. MDF is a database file, and LDF is a transaction log file.
The way to extract data from them is by attaching them to an instance of SQL Server. If the database file is smaller than 5GB, you can attach it to the free edition. If not, you'll need a real version of SQL Server.
The version of SQL Server has to match the version that you got the MDF file from. Sometimes, a newer server version can read an older MDF, but don't count on it.
Once you've got the database attached, you can generate a CSV file in many ways. One easy way is to "Save Results As" from SQL Server Management Studio.
You don't
You have to attach them to a SQL Server Instance and then use of of the Wizards. or import from a MySQL instance-
Related
I have some .mdf and .ldf files of database size greater than 10 GB with me.
I want to create a MySQL database using the same.
Is there any provision in MySQL to do it?
Please consider that MySQL and SQL Server 2008 can not be installed on the same machine (or even the same network) in my current setup.
I don't have enterprise edition of SQL Server management studio in our network and will not be able to install it.
Is there any other elegant way to export data from SQL Server 2008 and import it in MySQL?
I don't think it is possible without attaching.
If you find a way how to attach it, you can use some specific migrating tools like this.
Some tools allow to create database specific queries from another solution, that need to be only executed on your side.
The MDF and LDF files belong to Microsoft SQL Server and use Microsoft's own binary format, so you cannot connect these files to other database management systems. The only approach I can think of, is to script out the database code and data from the SQL Server database to a text file (.sql file), and import this file into MySQL.
when I go to the database I created in mysql I just see a db.opt, .frm and .ibd file types. Is there a way to create a .mdf database file so I can further create my project in visual studio?
To use a MySQL database in Visual Studio, you need to use Connector / Net and MySQL For Visual Studio. This code works well and will allow you to use MySQL with the various features of VS.
Or you need to transport the data from MySQL to SQL Server. There are tools to do that if you must.
See here. http://dev.mysql.com/tech-resources/articles/mysql-installer-for-windows.html
It is true that some MySQL databases have on-disk structures that use .frm and .ibd files. But those files are intended to be accessed pretty much exclusively by the MySQL server process.
It's also true that the mdf file is an ondisk structure for SQL Server. These files aren't transportable like .xls files or other "document" files.
1) You do NOT want to "extract a MySQL database as an .mdf file". Instead, you want to export a MySQL database to a SQL server database.
2) SQL Server uses any of the following files - at a minimum, you need a "primary database file" and a "log file". But you absolutely need MSSQL to manage these files for you:
.mdf - Primary database data file.
.ndf - Other database data files i.e. non Primary.
.ldf - Log data file.
3) So how do you export? If you're familiar with MSSQL SSMS (the MSSQL GUI), you might want to consider using the Export/Import Wizard. Here is a good "howto" on using MSSQL "import" tools:
http://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertutorial/2205/mysql-to-sql-server-data-migration/
4) Alternatively, you can also use phpAdmin to "export" into MSSQL:
http://www.waynezim.com/2010/03/how-to-export-mysql-database-to-mssql-using-phpmyadmin/
5) Finally, if all you want to do is access mySQL data from an MSVS C# or ASP.Net program ... there's really no need to export/import at all. .Net allows you to access mySQL data directly:
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/connector-net/en/connector-net-visual-studio.html
Good luck - and let us know what you find works best for you!
I have a asp script that I'm intending to write it with PHP so I have to get its database and use it.
I have the database as .bak file which I understood that it's a backup and I wanna change it to be .sql to import it in phpMyAdmin
I read about this matter in the web but I didn't find an accurate tutorial that goes through the whole process.
They are talking about mssql database but I didn't even reach this step..
Any help will be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance :)
Note, all of this applies to MS SQL because .bak is a usually a MS SQL backup.
A .bak can't be converted to SQL directly -- it contains a backup of a database which does not have a clear relationship to SQL.
You could restore the backup and then use SQL Server tools and then use that to make some SQL to recreate the SQL server objects but not the dat.
From SQL Server Management Studio: Datbases item, right click "Restore
Database" then from datbase right click script database.
This won't script the data.
The other option is to use RedGate's excellent tools, which should do everything you want.
http://www.red-gate.com/products/sql-development/sql-toolbelt/
Most probably the .bak file is indeed a binary backup of a Microsoft SQL Server database (which is something completely different than MySQL).
So you will first need to install Microsoft SQL Server (Express) together with the SQL Server Management studio (I think there is a bundled download "SQL Server Express including Tools".
In the Management Studio you can then import the .bak file into a new database. Once the import is finished you can use it to create SQL script out of the database.
I'd like to install AdventureWorks2008 (I just install SQL Server 2008 R2 Express).
Each time I download the recommended version from CodePlex, all I get is a AdventureWorks2008.mdf file. Not only I cannot attach the file from SQL Server Management Studio, but I cannot copy/paste the file directly into the the database.
I've read in several places that I need to use AdventureWorks2008.msi, but I cannot find where to download it.
I just cannot figure out how to install AdventureWorks2008
Thanks for helping
There isn't an .msi file for adventureworks, even though you'll find it mentioned in outdated documentation and books. You aren't alone in finding this confusing -- it seems the web site, files and steps Microsoft provides for installing these databases changes every time I need to install them.
You need to create the database and attach the .mdf file, which is the "data file" referred to in the instructions. (.mdf = primary data file, .ldf = log file, .ndf = secondary data file)
In order to attach the file, you need to make sure you carefully follow the steps here: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/3735.sql-server-samples-readme-en-us.aspx#Readme_for_Adventure_Works_Sample_Databases
Instructions for 2008R2:
To install AdventureWorks2008R2 OLTP database
Download the AdventureWorks2008R2 Data File.
From File Download, click Save and browse to a location on your local
server.
From SQL Server Management Studio, execute the following code:
Case-insensitive Database
CREATE DATABASE AdventureWorks2008R2
ON (FILENAME = '{drive}:\{file path}\AdventureWorks2008R2_Data.mdf')
FOR ATTACH_REBUILD_LOG;
As an alternative to step 3, you can attach the database using the SQL
Server Management Studio user interface. For more detailed
information, see Attach a Database (SQL Server Management Studio).
Note: You must remove the log file from the list of files to attach.
This will cause the operation to rebuild the log.
Headache saving tip from Aaron Bertrand:
You should place the mdf file in your normal data folder - SQL Server
will already have the proper permissions. You can get this path using
SELECT TOP (1) physical_name FROM master.sys.database_files;
You can directly paste that file into your database directory. For more information you can refer http://tryingmicrosoft.com/error-while-attaching-a-database-to-sql-server-2008-r2/.
The title is self explanatory. Is there a way of directly doing such kind of importing?
The .BAK files from SQL server are in Microsoft Tape Format (MTF) ref: http://www.fpns.net/willy/msbackup.htm
The bak file will probably contain the LDF and MDF files that SQL server uses to store the database.
You will need to use SQL server to extract these. SQL Server Express is free and will do the job.
So, install SQL Server Express edition, and open the SQL Server Powershell. There execute sqlcmd -S <COMPUTERNAME>\SQLExpress (whilst logged in as administrator)
then issue the following command.
restore filelistonly from disk='c:\temp\mydbName-2009-09-29-v10.bak';
GO
This will list the contents of the backup - what you need is the first fields that tell you the logical names - one will be the actual database and the other the log file.
RESTORE DATABASE mydbName FROM disk='c:\temp\mydbName-2009-09-29-v10.bak'
WITH
MOVE 'mydbName' TO 'c:\temp\mydbName_data.mdf',
MOVE 'mydbName_log' TO 'c:\temp\mydbName_data.ldf';
GO
At this point you have extracted the database - then install Microsoft's "Sql Web Data Administrator". together with this export tool and you will have an SQL script that contains the database.
MySql have an application to import db from microsoft sql.
Steps:
Open MySql Workbench
Click on "Database Migration" (if it do not appear you have to install it from MySql update)
Follow the Migration Task List using the simple Wizard.
I did not manage to find a way to do it directly.
Instead I imported the bak file into SQL Server 2008 Express, and then used MySQL Migration Toolkit.
Worked like a charm!
In this problem, the answer is not updated in a timely. So it's happy to say that in 2020 Migrating to MsSQL into MySQL is that much easy. An online converter like RebaseData will do your job with one click. You can just upload your .bak file which is from MsSQL and convert it into .sql format which is readable to MySQL.
Additional note: This can not only convert your .bak files but also this site is for all types of Database migrations that you want.
Although my MySQL background is limited, I don't think you have much luck doing that. However, you should be able to migrate over all of your data by restoring the db to a MSSQL server, then creating a SSIS or DTS package to send your tables and data to the MySQL server.
hope this helps
I highly doubt it. You might want to use DTS/SSIS to do this as Levi says. One think that you might want to do is start the process without actually importing the data. Just do enough to get the basic table structures together. Then you are going to want to change around the resulting table structure, because whatever structure tat will likely be created will be shaky at best.
You might also have to take this a step further and create a staging area that takes in all the data first n a string (varchar) form. Then you can create a script that does validation and conversion to get it into the "real" database, because the two databases don't always work well together, especially when dealing with dates.
The method I used included part of Richard Harrison's method:
So, install SQL Server 2008 Express
edition,
This requires the download of the Web Platform Installer "wpilauncher_n.exe"
Once you have this installed click on the database selection ( you are also required to download Frameworks and Runtimes)
After instalation go to the windows command prompt and:
use sqlcmd -S \SQLExpress (whilst
logged in as administrator)
then issue the following command.
restore filelistonly from
disk='c:\temp\mydbName-2009-09-29-v10.bak';
GO This will list the contents of the
backup - what you need is the first
fields that tell you the logical names
- one will be the actual database and the other the log file.
RESTORE DATABASE mydbName FROM
disk='c:\temp\mydbName-2009-09-29-v10.bak' WITH MOVE 'mydbName' TO
'c:\temp\mydbName_data.mdf', MOVE
'mydbName_log' TO
'c:\temp\mydbName_data.ldf'; GO
I fired up Web Platform Installer and from the what's new tab I installed SQL Server Management Studio and browsed the db to make sure the data was there...
At that point i tried the tool included with MSSQL "SQL Import and Export Wizard" but the result of the csv dump only included the column names...
So instead I just exported results of queries like "select * from users" from the SQL Server Management Studio
SQL Server databases are very Microsoft proprietary. Two options I can think of are:
Dump the database in CSV, XML or similar format that you'd then load into MySQL.
Setup ODBC connection to MySQL and then using DTS transport the data. As Charles Graham has suggested, you may need to build the tables before doing this. But that's as easy as a cut and paste from SQL Enterprise Manager windows to the corresponding MySQL window.
For those attempting Richard's solution above, here are some additional information that might help navigate common errors:
1) When running restore filelistonly you may get Operating system error 5(Access is denied). If that's the case, open SQL Server Configuration Manager and change the login for SQLEXPRESS to a user that has local write privileges.
2) #"This will list the contents of the backup - what you need is the first fields that tell you the logical names" - if your file lists more than two headers you will need to also account for what to do with those files in the RESTORE DATABASE command. If you don't indicate what to do with files beyond the database and the log, the system will apparently try to use the attributes listed in the .bak file. Restoring a file from someone else's environment will produce a 'The path has invalid attributes. It needs to be a directory' (as the path in question doesn't exist on your machine).
Simply providing a MOVE statement resolves this problem.
In my case there was a third FTData type file. The MOVE command I added:
MOVE 'mydbName_log' TO 'c:\temp\mydbName_data.ldf',
MOVE 'sysft_...' TO 'c:\temp\other';
in my case I actually had to make a new directory for the third file. Initially I tried to send it to the same folder as the .mdf file but that produced a 'failed to initialize correctly' error on the third FTData file when I executed the restore.
The .bak file from SQL Server is specific to that database dialect, and not compatible with MySQL.
Try using etlalchemy to migrate your SQL Server database into MySQL. It is an open-sourced tool that I created to facilitate easy migrations between different RDBMS's.
Quick installation and examples are provided here on the github page, and a more detailed explanation of the project's origins can be found here.