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We have an old project which is planned for an upgrade, and now as a seed, we took the backup of the whole database which is in a remote location. I saved it in my remote desktop, which I have limited permissions. I tried to use SQL Server Management Studio 2008 R2, but as there are no database in the newly created (remote) system, I cannot actually right click on the databases and restore the .BAK file.

Is there any other software, or any other method I can use to restore the file? I am guessing this is a pretty small work, but because of the complexity in permissions and connectivity, it's messed up. I cannot even compare to another blogs, I feel this is unique. Please suggest a workaround.

ps., I have no clue which SQL Server version they used to create that backup. The new system does not have Visual Studio, or anything else, but the SQL Server Management Studio 2008 R2 Express x64 version.

marc_s
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dileep
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  • *but as there are no DB in the newly created system* Not have *a* user database in SQL Server is not a problem, so I'm going to assume that there's no SQL Server here. And if your question is *How do I restore a SQL Server backup on a machine without SQL Server and without permissions to install SQL Server* then well ... no. – ta.speot.is Jan 23 '13 at 22:29
  • You have a .bak file that is on a non-local machine. You wish to restore it *somewhere*. The remote location does not have SQL Server installed. You cannot install SQL Server there. Does this accurately reflect the constraints as well as your need? – billinkc Jan 23 '13 at 22:36
  • do you guys think i will be able to bring that .Bak file into my current working system, restore it, and then migrate that DB to another location by any chance? – dileep Jan 23 '13 at 22:39
  • @billinkc... I installed a SQL server 2008 R2 express version in the system(remote) , but i am not the admin, i am only permitted to access a few folders in it. i use my own userid and password to log into it, but it doesnot let me connect with windows authentication. i used SQL, used my credentials but it pop's an error. – dileep Jan 23 '13 at 22:44
  • ok. got the Friggin bug. its the service pack. I installed SQL Server Express Service pack 2, and it works fine. this is dumb, un expected, and not worth posting in stack overflow. thanks for trying to help guys! appretiate it! – dileep Jan 29 '13 at 22:18

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If you can get the appropriate permissions to install SQL Server then SQL Server 2012 Express should do for restoring the database and reading from it, provided the database has less than 10GB of data.

SQL Server 2008 R2 Express has a limit of 10GB of data, too. Earlier versions permit less data.

Don't confuse a backup file that's less than 10GB as having less than 10GB of data. Backup files can be compressed.

You should be aware of the limitations of SQL Server Express if you are going to use it beyond reading some data from the restored database, it may not be suitable for all workloads.

SQL Server 2012 LocalDB might also do the trick in a low privileges/lots of hoops to jump through environment, although it requires Administrator permissions when it's being installed. Note that it still has similar limitations to the Express editions, make sure you understand these limitations before using it in production.

ta.speot.is
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  • the size of the .Bak file is at 5.50 GB, but i am unsure what it will pop up into after de-compression – dileep Jan 23 '13 at 22:40