Q 1:Does anyone know how to open the SQL .bak file in Excel? I'm new to SQL, and I'm not quite familiar with SQL query. It always takes me so long to access the SQL file. Is it possible to open the SQL .bak file in Excel in a simple way?
Q 2:Can I check the SQL .back file when SQL database corrupted? Can I open it in Excel file and restore the .bak file into SQL?
After renaming it, you can directly open the file using Microsoft Word and access the saved content. The same process applies for.bak files that are saved as a backup file of a Notepad document. You need to rename the.bak file extension as.txt to view the data saved in them. METHOD 3 Finding the original file format of a backed-up.bak file.
Most new MS SQL administrators all have the same feeling that it's complex to use SQL queries or SQL application to check or open specific SQL .bak files.
Also, sometimes, when the SQL database corrupted, the request for restoring .bak file to SQL Server makes some new administrators confused.
If you are one of these new Administrators, who are having issues with opening SQL .bak file in Excel, select reliable methods in the following two parts to resolve your issue with ease.
Before you start, locate the directory of .bak file on your SQL Server computer. Here is the default path where SQL Server saves the .bak file:
Let's see how to open your SQL database backup file in Excel with below three methods:
Note: This method is provided by a third-party website as a quick way to convert .BAK file to Excel.
And you may try this way to open your SQL Server .bak file in Excel.
Let's start:
Step 1. Locate and find the SQL .bak file on your local drive.
If you didn't see the .bak file in the above provided location, run below command in SSMS to find the directory of your SQL database backup file - .bak:
Step 2. Copy and save the .bak file to another secure device.
Step 3. Open File Explorer > View > Options > uncheck 'Hide Extensions for Known File Types' and click 'OK'.
Step 4. Open the device with copied SQL database backup .bak file and right-click on it.
Step 5. Select 'Rename' > change the '.bak' file extension into '.xls' or '.xlsx'.
Step 6. Double-click the renamed file and open it in Excel.
Then, you can check the SQL .bak data in an Excel spreadsheet and even edit the database as you wish.
This method includes two process - 1. You need to restore the .bak database backup file into SQL Server; 2. Export the restored database into Excel.
Here are the detailed guidelines:
Follow the below steps to restore a .bak file with SQL Server Management Studio:
Step 1. Open SSMS (SQL Server Management Studio), right-click on the database where you want to restore the .bak data to and select 'Tasks' > 'Restore' > 'Database'.
Step 2. Click the three dots button next to the 'From device' section, browse to choose the .bak file saved on your local drive.
Step 3. Click 'Add' to specify the exact location where you saved the .bak file, select it and click 'OK' to confirm.
Step 4. Tick 'Full Database Backup' and 'Transaction Log Backup', click 'OK' to confirm.
When the restore process completes, click 'OK' to finish.
Note: If the .bak file contains the backup of your SQL database, the whole process also works to restore your corrupted SQL Server database from backup.
SQL Server Management Studio, with its Import and Export Wizard, enables you to export the restored .bak file - SQL database into Excel.
Be careful with below manual steps to export SQL database:
Step 1. Open SQL Server Management Studio and log in with your administrator account.
Step 2. Go to Object Explorer, right-click any database that you wish to open in Excel and select 'Tasks' > 'Export Data...'.
Step 3. Enter the SQL Server Import and Export Wizard, click 'Next' to continue.
Step 4. Choose a data source from which you want to copy data as shown below and click 'Next' to continue:
Step 5. Choose a destination to copy database data to Excel and click 'Next' to continue:
Step 6. Specify Table Copy or Query - select 'Copy data from one or more tables or views', click 'Next' to continue.
Step 7. Select Source Tables and Views - select the exact tables and views that you want to open in Excel, and click 'Next' to continue.
You can also select a specific table and click 'Preview' to check the data in advance.
Step 8. Select 'Run immediately' on the Save and Run Package, click 'Next' to continue.
Step 9. Click 'Finish' on the Complete Wizard.
Step 10. Click the Report drop-down button and select 'Save Report to File...' to continue.
Step 11. Choose Excel as the target file, and then you can open the exported SQL database in Excel.
On some open source websites, some developers also generate a third-party SQL .bak to Excel converter tool.
It's easy and practical to convert the SQL .bak file into Excel. If you want to try this tool, search online, and you'll get it.
For example, SQL to Excel convert.
In Way 1 #1, the restoring process of .bak file to SQL Server via SSMS can help to restore corrupted or deleted database to SQL.
However, if you accidentally deleted records in SQL database or the SQL database corrupted for some reason, what will you do?
How will you bring back the deleted records or repair the corrupted database? Fortunately, a professional SQL recovery tool can help.
EaseUS MS SQL Recovery, with its powerful feature, can effectively bring your lost database records back.
It supports all versions of MS SQL Servers, including SQL Server 2017/2016/2014/2012/2008.
Follow the detailed guide below to repair your corrupted SQL Server database with ease:
Step 1: Select the corrupted database for recovery
Note: To use this software, you need to stop the SQL Server service.
Step 2: Repair the corrupted database
Step 3: Export to the database or as scripts
Note: Before clicking 'OK', you need to restart the SQL Server service.