Oracle database, or simply Oracle, is one of the leading Database Management systems. It uses a mix of cloud based and offline tools to create and manage its databases. This article highlights some of the reasons why your offline Oracle DBF files might be corrupted.
Data Corruption is still a universal problem especially for situations where there is no cloud based backup. For DBF files in Oracle, you can tell if your file is corrupt if it doesn’t open and instead displays an error message. Moreover, if the database does open but some of the objects are missing or misrepresented, then it could still be corrupt.
There are several things that could lead to corruption of Oracle DBF files. Let’s delve into the most common ones:
Hardware issues
Sometimes the cause of data corruption is not software related. Hardware issues, such as using outdated hardware to run recent versions of Oracle, play a big role in damaging your Oracle DBF files. If you run an extremely large database file on a computer with low specs, it’s likely to not only fail to open the database, but also corrupt it.
Another hardware malfunction that could cause corruption of Oracle DBF files is a faulty hard disk. Hard disk problems such as missing sectors can damage or modify your DBF file.
System issues
Oracle database client (12.1) users on Windows 10 have reported file corruption after a system update. This is because Windows 10 forces system updates. If an update happens when you’re working on your database, the DBF file is likely to be corrupt when the system restarts.
Other system issues such as system crashes while the database is being edited or saved can also cause file corruption.
Incompetent antivirus software
Since most Oracle users rely on its online services, it is always important to have a good antivirus installed. Viruses and malware can attack not just your DBF files, but your whole disk or system. If you’re frequently using the internet, you should always have an up-to-date antivirus software.
Sometimes it’s the antivirus itself that causes the data corruption. Using an incompatible antivirus interferes with the rest of the other applications’ normal functions especially during processor intensive tasks like saving. You should therefore ensure that the antivirus you’re using is compatible with your system.
Accidental modification
Apart from Oracle, there are several other applications that can create and edit DBF files. In Office, these include Excel and Access. It is therefore not unlikely to see DBF files in your file explorer that you didn’t create using Oracle. If you tried to open some of these files using Oracle, they might be corrupted.
Over tweaking your computer can also lead to accidentally changing a non-database file into DBF format.
How to recover the files
Regardless of the reason for the file’s corruption, you can still try to repair and recover it. One of the easiest and most effective ways to do that is by using DataNumen Oracle Recovery.
DataNumen Oracle Recovery is the leading Oracle database file recovery tool. What’s more exciting is that it is very easy to use and doesn’t require you to seek the services of a data recovery expert.