Restoring the SQL master database from a Backup Exec image

If the master database is damaged, symptoms can include the following:

An inability to start SQL.
Segmentation faults or input or output errors.
A report that is generated by SQL Database Consistency Checker utility (DBCC).

If you can start SQL, you can restore the latest copy of the master database backup by using the Automate master database restore option. Then restore any other databases, if needed.

If you cannot start SQL, you can use copies of the master database and model databases.

When a backup is restored, all changes that are made to the master database after the last backup was created are lost. You must reapply any changes. If you created any user databases after the master database was backed up, you cannot access those databases. You cannot access the databases until the databases are restored from backups or reattached to SQL.

To restore the SQL master database from a Backup Exec image

Log on as Administrator.
Open the Backup, Archive, and Restore interface.
Specify the appropriate server, client, and policy type.
Select File > Select Files and Folders to Restore > from Backup Exec Backup.
In the Restore window, from the NetBackup History pane, select the backup image that contains the last master database backup.
In the All Folders pane, select the master database.
Select Actions > Start Restore of Marked Files.
In the Restore Marked Files dialog box, on the Microsoft SQL Server tab, select Automate master database restore.

When this option is selected, only the master database can be restored; if this option is selected for any other database, those jobs fail. When you start the restore operation, all existing users are logged off, and SQL Server is put into single-user mode.

If NetBackup does not have access to the SQL registry keys HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\MSSQLServer, then a restore to the default directory may not work. And the option Automate master database restore does not work. To ensure that NetBackup has access rights, verify that the account that NetBackup uses has administrator rights to the computer that is running SQL.
Select a consistency check to be run after the restore.
Click Start Restore.

After the restore, SQL is restarted in multi-user mode.