Working with SQL Server sometimes you have to restore your database and sooner or later during the restoration process you can receive the following error message:
Msg 3117, Level 16, State 1, Line 1 The log or differential backup cannot be restored because no files are ready to roll forward. Msg 3013, Level 16, State 1, Line 1 RESTORE LOG is terminating abnormally.
You can face this error message when you are trying to restore a differential database backup.
The log or differential backup cannot be restored because no files are ready to rollforward – Solution
You receive this error message because you haven’t restored SQL Server full backup or it has been restored without the “WITH NORECOVERY” option. All you need to do before restoring a differential backup is to make sure that a full database backup was restored with the “WITH NORECOVERY” option.
Here you can find a simple example of how to restore a differential backup
RESTORE DATABASE AdventureWorks FROM DISK = 'D:\AdventureWorks_Full.bak' WITH NORECOVERY RESTORE DATABASE AdventureWorks FROM DISK = 'D:\AdventureWorks_Diff.bak' WITH RECOVERY
Very useful. Tks a lot.
Thank very helpful
Thank you so much, you really save my whole day of researching why cannot restore differential backup.
Is there a way to restore a differential backup after a restore of the full backup has been restored with “WITH_RECOVERY” option have been performed?
Hello Paolo,
Sorry, but there is no way to do it.