Microsoft® SQL Server 2012 Unleashed

Restoring the System Databases

The SQL Server 2012 system databases that can be restored are the master, msdb, model, and distribution databases. Each of these databases performs an essential role in the operation of SQL Server. If these databases are damaged or lost, they can be restored from database backup files in a similar fashion to user databases.

The master database, which contains information about other databases and is required to start SQL Server, has some special restore considerations. It must be operational before restores of other system databases can be considered. When you are restoring the master database, there are two basic scenarios. The first scenario involves a restore of the master database when the master database currently ...