===== [V7] ISSUE: Required file for database is missing (MS SQL database backup) ===== Article ID: 5297
Reviewed: 2018-01-30

Product Version:
AhsayOBM: Post-7.3.0.0
OS: Windows ATTENTION 1st January, 2022: v7 officially End-of-Life [details] ===== Problem Description ===== When performing a MS SQL database backup (VSS backup mode), the following error message is received in the backup report:

No.	Type	Timestamp	Log
*	...	...	...
*	info	...	Required backup not found. Full backup will perform (SQL_hostname\...\db_name.mdf.diff)
*	...	...	Required backup not found. Full backup will perform (SQL_hostname\...\db_name.ldf.diff)
*	...	...	[End] Database
*	erro	YYYY/MM/DD hh:mm:ss	Required file "database.mdf" for database SQL_hostname\MSDB\db_name is missing.
*	...	...	...

===== Cause ===== The message suggests that the database file of the corresponding database cannot be found in the backup destination, possible cause may be:

Data corruption in the backup destination
Corrupted file (data blocks of the database file) deleted by the data integrity check.

Backup issue during a previous backup job
Database file was not properly uploaded to the backup destination during a previous backup.

===== Resolution ===== To resolve the issue, refer to the following steps:

Data corruption:

Check if there is hardware or I/O issue with the corresponding backup destination.
- Windows
  For backup destination that are located on a Windows computer, check in the Event Viewer to confirm if there is any error. If a disk error is found, perform a check disk on the affected partition by entering the following command in command prompt.
  
  chkdsk /f
- Linux
  For backup destination that are located on a Linux computer, confirm if there is any error found:
  
  cat /var/log/messages
  
  If a disk error is found, perform a check disk on the affected partition by enter the following commands with the partition un-mount.
  
  /sbin/fsck
  
  /sbin/e2fsck
- Network volume
  For backup destination on a network volume, ensure that a stable connection can be established between the backup client and destination for the duration of a backup.

Backup issue during a previous backup job:

Check on the previous backup reports for any error, or contact Ahsay support representatives for further assistance.

For both cases, perform a Data Integrity Check for the affected backup set (Instruction), then perform a Full database backup afterward.

Important:
The same error will still be displayed during the next Full database backup job, the problem will be resolved after the database file is uploaded properly. Do not interrupt the database backup job when an error is displayed. ===== Keywords ===== sql, vss, require, required, miss, missed, missing