Microsoft SQL Server Error 5242 and 5243 Resolved

Table of Content

• An Introduction
• How SQL Stores Data
• Available Solutions
• Methods
• Error Handling Mechanism
• Conclusion

Introduction

SQL stands for Structured Query Language, used as the standard language to communicate with the database. SQL performs tasks such as; manipulate or update, retrieve data from the databases. There are many versions of SQL Server such as 2000, 2005, 2008, etc. SQL engine is provided with logical checks for detecting consistency problem for rows which were reported as fatal errors with a word “RecBase”.

And with Server 2005 two types of error messages came into; 5242 and 5243. Both these errors report the row consistency error while creating a row with UPDATE, SELECT, etc., commands. Error message says to contact the technical support but before doing so we need to run DBCC CHECKDB.

An example of earlier error:

SQL Server Assertion: File: , line=1378 Failed Assertion = 'm_offBeginVar < m_sizeRec'

The message shown when the Microsoft SQL Server error 5242 arises is;

“An inconsistency was detected during an internal operation. Please contact technical support. Reference number %ld”

Microsoft SQL server error 5243 & the are more or less similar to each other except that, in 5243 the database cannot be determined. Both of the errors refer that the offset of variable length column array is outside the end of the record.

If these error; 5242 and 5243 occurs then, need to figure out what had happened to the I/O subsystems. Mainly both of these errors describes record type is wrong for the current type of page.

Microsoft SQL Server Error 5243 and SQL error 5242 occurs because of error spotted when running the CHECKDB, as part of maintenance. The CHECKDB determines all the allocated pages in the SQL databases and if there are some corruptions in the database page then, it might fail. If the page checksum is enabled then, you will get another error, i.e. 824 instead of 5242 and 5243 error.

How SQL Stores Data?

First of all, errors 5242 and 5243 are mainly seen in SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008. SQL stores data in .mdf file which stands for Master Database Files and it is the default file extension. SQL Server consists of one primary data file. NDF file is also a default file extension and it is the secondary database file.

Resolution to the Problem Caused by Inconsistency:

The error occurs because of inconsistency so, to resolve follow these steps:

• Run DBCC CHECKDB Trans-SQL command on the databases where the failure has occurred.
• When DBCC CHECKDB Trans-SQL command reports error, then resolve that error.

Error Handling Methods in Server 2005:

Almost all application will come across errors and exceptions. There will be errors to be handled while designing the databases. Therefore, we need to handle errors from the DB itself. In-order to handle errors, there is error-handling features provided in SQL Server 2005.

They are of two types:

• @@ERROR
• TRY-CATCH Block

Scenarios Where We Can Apply Error Handling Mechanism:

There are mainly three scenarios where we can perform the error handling mechanism.

• While using or executing DML (Data Manipulation Language) statements such as; UPDATE, INSERT, etc.
• When the transactions fail, then, need to rollback. In this, error handling can play a role while using the Cursor in the SQL Server

About Each Mechanism:

@@ERROR is the Global variable in the SQL Server and it automatically checks the error messages, if; it should be traced in the next line where the error occurred, otherwise it will reset to 0.

Syntax: Select @@ERROR

Return type: int

TRY-CATCH Block

For multiple SQL statements the try….catch mechanism is implemented. Similar to the try…catch in programming language, we can implement the mechanism in SQL Server. This mechanism can be seen from the entire SQL Server from 2005 onwards.

Always a try should be followed by the catch, i.e. for a try, there should be a catch and that is its syntax.

There can be nested try…catch statements as in the programming languages. In a nutshell, we can say that users can easily eliminate the “an inconsistency was detected during an internal operation. please contact technical support.“ error with ease this way. All they need is a little technical assistance.

Conclusion

There are many error codes in SQL Server other than SQL Server error 5242 and 5243. These error codes reports about something that is missing thus, enabling easier correction. Although there are many features provided by the Server, they will take more time.

By going for manual solving, there occurs even more trouble since there is a chance of mismatching with the statements used in try…catch. So, relying on automated software will work better to solve SQL error 5242 & Microsoft SQL server error 5243. There is software, which helps in repairing the troubles and consumes only less time.