Desperately need help restoring a backup to local copy of Raisers Edge for updating the data warehouse

Cindy Filler

I'm posting in this group with the hopes that someone is also getting backups of the NXT database and downloading it to a local copy of Raisers Edge to update the Blackbaud data warehouse. 


We went live with NXT 2 weeks ago.  I just got the first download of our data and I can't get the backup restored.  I've tried using the Blackbaud management console and the SQL management console and keep getting an error like below.  I'm on sql 2008 R2 and thought maybe I needed to upgrade to 2012, but I'm getting the same error message.  I'm also on windows 2008 R2 so can't go to a higher level of sql.  I don't know if there is a trick to the restoring a backup file or ??  I'm hoping someone out there can tell me what version SQL is being used and what are the specific steps for restoring the database.  Or maybe the backup isn't correct?? 

Msg 3241, Level 16, State 0, Line 1

The media family on device 'c:\\temp\\Fe_21559_db_20180209113939687_compressed.bak' is incorrectly formed. SQL Server cannot process this media family.

Grant Quick

Hi Cindy,

​I'm not sure what version of SQL Server the backup file was produced on, but it sounds like either the backup is corrupted (either at source or as a result of file transfer) or you're trying to restore to an earlier destination version of SQL than the backup was produced on.

​The following link gives a couple of possible options: https://dba.stackexchange.com/questions/37288/media-family-on-device-is-incorrectly-formed-sql-server-cannot-process-this-med


To test/fix:

1. ​If acquiring the file via FTP, ensure the transfer is made in binary mode rather than text mode (howto: https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/website/file-management/corrupt-file-ftp-transfer)
2. ​Test the backup by attempting to restore to the most recent version of SQL server - if your OS is locked at Windows Server 2008 R2, the it would be worth finding an alternative Windows box with a more recent OS for this exercise. You can download the developer edition of SQL Server 2017 fom here, which (admin permissions notwithstanding) could be installed on your local machine. If succesful, it should help inform which version of SQL Server you would require in your production environment, although Blackbaud support should be able to answer this question directly.

Cheers,


Grant

Jarod Bonino

Cindy Filler:

I'm posting in this group with the hopes that someone is also getting backups of the NXT database and downloading it to a local copy of Raisers Edge to update the Blackbaud data warehouse. 


We went live with NXT 2 weeks ago.  I just got the first download of our data and I can't get the backup restored.  I've tried using the Blackbaud management console and the SQL management console and keep getting an error like below.  I'm on sql 2008 R2 and thought maybe I needed to upgrade to 2012, but I'm getting the same error message.  I'm also on windows 2008 R2 so can't go to a higher level of sql.  I don't know if there is a trick to the restoring a backup file or ??  I'm hoping someone out there can tell me what version SQL is being used and what are the specific steps for restoring the database.  Or maybe the backup isn't correct?? 

Msg 3241, Level 16, State 0, Line 1

The media family on device 'c:\\temp\\Fe_21559_db_20180209113939687_compressed.bak' is incorrectly formed. SQL Server cannot process this media family.

 

Cindy,


This is request that should be routed through our support team so they have a formal record of the issue and can start collecting the necessary details to help you get an accurate answer. Here is a KB article that explains that answering "what version of SQL server did my backup come from" is fairly nuanced: https://kb.blackbaud.com/articles/Article/56359


Please let me know if you'd like me to forward this post to our support team to create a case or if you'd prefer to contact them directly yourself.


Thanks,

Jarod Bonino

Product Manager, Raiser's Edge

Heather Fleck

@Cindy Filler Hi Cindy,

We are in the exact same situation. What I have been told by Blackbaud support is that NXT uses SQL 2019 so your local server will need to be the same. “Since your backup file was on SQL 2019, the requirement is to have the BAK file and the server in the same SQL.”

We are currently in process of upgrading to SQL 2019 then will have to migrate our data from our Raiser’s Edge 7.96 practice database which is currently on SQL 2008 R2.

Heather