What is Error 5171 in MS SQL Server?

Error 5171 in Microsoft SQL Server is a file system error. It is typically encountered when trying to perform an operation on a database file, such as attaching it to an instance of SQL Server or performing a backup, and the file system is unable to complete the operation due to corruption in the database file.

The error message associated with SQL Server Error 5171 typically includes the following text:

"Error: 5171, Severity: 16, State: 1. The header for file '<file_name>' is not a valid database file header. The PageAudit property is incorrect."

This error can be caused by various reasons, such as hardware failure, file system corruption, or unexpected system shutdown. To resolve this error, you may need to restore a backup of the database or run a DBCC CHECKDB command to repair the database file. If a backup is not available or the repair is not successful, you may need third-party Cigati SQL Recovery Software to recover the data from the damaged SQL Server database file.