SQL Backup Recovery

Recover a Corrupt or Damaged .bak File

When a SQL Server .bak will not restore, the data inside is often still recoverable. Univik reads a corrupt, truncated or damaged backup at a low level and pulls the tables out, with no restore and no healthy server needed.

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Backup Will Not Restore: Get the data even when RESTORE fails.
Corrupt or Truncated: Recover from a damaged or cut-off .bak file.
Reads the Backup Directly: A low level read, with no SQL Server.
Export the Recovered Data: Save to CSV, Excel, SQL and more.

Univik SQL Backup Recovery box

Why Univik

Recover a Backup That Will Not Restore

A restore gives up the moment a backup is damaged. Univik does not. It reads the .bak as a file and salvages the tables that survived.

Reads a Corrupt Backup

Univik opens a damaged .bak at a low level, so a file that RESTORE rejects still gives up its data.

Handles a Truncated File

A backup that was cut off partway through can still be read, so Univik recovers the tables that survived.

Works Past a Version Mismatch

A newer backup that an older server will not restore still opens as a file, so you reach the data anyway.

Compressed and Plain

Recovers from MS_XPRESS and ZSTD compressed backups as well as plain ones.

Exports What It Finds

The recovered tables go to CSV, Excel, SQL, JSON and more or straight into a live SQL Server.

Read Only and Safe

The backup is opened read only, so your one copy is never changed during recovery.

The Steps

How Backup Recovery Works

Four steps from a damaged backup to recovered data.

Open the damaged .bak: Point Univik at the backup. No SQL Server and no restore is needed.
Scan and recover: Univik reads the backup at a low level and rebuilds the tables it can reach.
Preview the data: See the recovered databases and tables before you save anything.
Export the results: Write the recovered data to CSV, Excel, SQL or a live SQL Server.

Comparison

Univik vs a Failed Restore

What happens to your data when the backup is damaged.

Univik Recovery

Recovers on Failure: Gets the data when RESTORE stops.
Corrupt Backups: Reads a damaged or truncated file.
No Server: Works with nothing installed.
Any Version: Opens a newer backup on any machine.
Read Only: The backup is never touched.

A Failed Restore

Needs Success: If RESTORE fails, you get nothing.
Blocks on Damage: A corrupt backup halts the restore.
Server Required: A matching SQL Server must be ready.
Version Locked: A newer backup will not go onto an older server.
All or Nothing: A partial restore leaves no data.

Data Sheet

Recovery Specifications

Product details, source support and requirements.

Product Name:	Univik SQL Backup Recovery
Version:	6.7 (Latest)
Source Files:	SQL Server backup (.bak), corrupt, truncated or damaged, compressed or plain.
Compression:	MS_XPRESS at all transfer sizes and ZSTD from SQL Server 2025 (bundled libzstd).
Source Versions:	SQL Server 2000 to 2025
Recovers:	Tables and rows from a backup that will not restore.
Output:	CSV, Excel, SQL script, JSON, XML, Parquet and Access, plus a direct live SQL Server restore.
Platforms:	Windows 11 and 10 (64-bit), Windows Server 2016 and later.
Prerequisites:	.NET Framework 4.8 or higher. No SQL Server or SSMS needed.
License Price:	Starting from $99 Buy Now

Help & Support

Backup Recovery Questions

Common questions about recovering a SQL Server backup.

Yes. Univik reads a corrupt backup at a low level, so it recovers the tables and rows from a .bak that will not restore. The more of the file that survived, the more it brings back.

Often yes. A restore needs a healthy backup and a matching server. Univik needs neither, so it reads the .bak as a file and salvages what is readable.

Yes. When a backup was cut off partway through, Univik reads the part that made it to disk and recovers the tables held in it.

Yes. Univik recovers from MS_XPRESS compressed backups at every transfer size and from the ZSTD compression in SQL Server 2025, as well as plain backups.

SQL Backup Recovery works on the .bak backup file. SQL Database Recovery works on the live MDF data file, for corrupt databases, deleted records and dropped tables. Use this page for a backup and that one for a database.

Backups from SQL Server 2000 through 2025 are supported, including 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2022. The version is read from the file.

Yes. Univik opens the .bak in read only mode and never writes to it. Every recovered result goes to a new file, so your original backup stays exactly as it is.

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