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Asked: 2026-06-09T04:09:56+00:00

I have a database that is getting to be huge. The mdf file is

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I have a database that is getting to be huge. The mdf file is about 150 GB and I just saw that the log file is nearing 1.5 TB! I do not care about the log file at all. So based on this, I plan on switching the recovery mode to simple.

However, I am concerned that I won’t be able to do a full restore in the future if I have a simple recovery mode set. Is this true?

Here is the code I use to backup my database nightly. Would I be able to do a full restore in the future if my hard drive crashes or something gets corrupted?

BACKUP DATABASE MyDatabase
TO DISK = 'F:\SQL Server Backup\MyDatabase.bak'
WITH INIT
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  1. Editorial Team

    In the Simple Recovery Model you will be able to take Full and Differential backups. If you have a full backup, you will be able to restore the database in full at the time of the full backup.

    A full backup in the simple recovery model has no less data than a full backup in the full recovery model.

    If you do this:

    backup database MySimpleRecoveryDatabase
to disk = 'F:\SQL Server Backup\MyDatabase.bak'
go

    And then at a later date perform a RESTORE:

    restore database MySimpleRecoveryDatabase
from disk = 'F:\SQL Server Backup\MyDatabase.bak'
go

    Provided that .bak file was untouched between the backup and restore, you will have a full database restore that is equivalent to when you did the backup. (Note, that RESTORE DATABASE command may not be all-inclusive depending on NTFS structure, existing files, etc.)

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