This case study details the technical restoration of a Sybase Anywhere 8.0 database supporting a critical ERP system. By resolving low-level page ID discrepancies caused by physical disk failure, the AS Data Recovery team achieved nearly 100% data integrity.

Client & Data Information

• Client Name: Confidential
• Data Type: Sybase SQL Anywhere 8.0 (.db)
• Data Capacity: 1 GB
• Primary Issue: Physical Bad Sectors / Hardware Failure
• Error Signature: Page number on page does not match page requested (Error 101412)

Incident Summary

The client’s server experienced a physical disk malfunction, leading to bad sectors across the database storage partition. This resulted in a “Page ID Mismatch”—a severe logical-physical conflict where the database engine requests a specific page (e.g., Page 500), but the disk returns data from a different or corrupted sector. Because Sybase Anywhere 8.0 uses strict checksum and page-header validation, the ERP system crashed and initiated a transaction rollback, preventing any further access to the data.

Technical Analysis

Upon forensic analysis of the 1 GB .db file, AS Data Recovery engineers identified:

• Header Corruption: The metadata in the page headers had been altered by the disk’s failed write-head, causing the requested_page_id to differ from the actual_page_id.
• Validation Failure: The error code 101412 (9.0.2.3044) indicated that the engine’s internal verification check failed, immediately halting the process to prevent further data “bleeding.”
• Structural Integrity: While specific table pages were unreadable through standard SQL commands, the raw data rows within those blocks were still physically present in the binary stream.

Recovery Solution

The recovery strategy utilized Raw Binary Extraction and Page Remapping. Our engineers bypassed the Sybase engine’s validation layer. Using proprietary forensic tools, we performed a deep-sector scan of the .db file. We manually corrected the mismatched page headers and re-calculated the internal checksums, allowing the data to be “seen” by the database engine once again.

Recovery Process

• Forensic Imaging: Created a sector-by-sector clone of the 1 GB database using specialized hardware to safely read data from the bad sectors.
• Low-Level Page Analysis: Identified the specific corrupted pages that were triggering the 101412 error.
• Binary Header Correction: Manually re-aligned the page IDs within the file’s binary structure to match the database’s internal map.
• Data Extraction & Migration: Extracted the records from the repaired pages and migrated them into a fresh, healthy Sybase SQL Anywhere 8.0 instance.
• ERP Integration & Verification: Reconnected the ERP application to the new database. After adjusting for data consistency, the system returned to full functionality.

Recovery Results

• Recovery Integrity: Near 100% (Lossless restoration of the ERP environment).
• Recovered Volume: 1 GB.
• System Status: ERP system functioning normally; no transaction loss detected.
• Total Recovery Time: 2 Hours.

Expert Reminder from AS Data Recovery: A “Page Mismatch” error is a clear sign of hardware failure. Continuing to run the database can permanently overwrite the data in the bad sectors. If you see “Transaction rolled back” due to page errors, power down the server immediately. We specialize in bypassing these validation errors to extract 100% of your original data.