How to Restore a Broken MySQL Server in XAMPP (Easy Fix Without Data Loss)

This tutorial is for, you must have : ibdata1 and database folders containing .ibd and .frm files)
Is your MySQL refusing to start? Don’t panic! In this step-by-step tutorial, I’ll show you how to **restore a broken MySQL server** using the original XAMPP data folder — even if your MySQL service won't start at all.

⚙️ **This tutorial covers:**
* Identifying your XAMPP version
* Backing up your corrupted MySQL data safely
* Replacing your broken data folder with a clean one from the XAMPP archive
* Restoring your own databases (.ibd and .frm files)
* Recovering your previous databases inside phpMyAdmin

💡 This method works best when:
* You still have index file : ibdata1 intact
* You still have your database folders (.ibd, .frm) intact
* You want a quick restore without reinstallation

📝 **Recovery Steps covered in the video:**
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#0. Assuming you cannot start MySQL, so currently it's turned off
#1. Find out your original XAMPP version. If you don't know just assume the latest one.
#2. Prepare the ORIGINAL EMPTY DATA FOLDER (/mysql/data folder) from the XAMPP portable archive (get one from https://sourceforge.net/projects/xampp/files/ based on your chosen XAMPP version)
#3. Move/cut YOUR BROKEN DATA FOLDER (for me it's D:/xampp/mysql/data) to any BACKUP FOLDER (for me it's D:/xampp/mysql/data2). The BROKEN DATA FOLDER is where you installed XAMPP initially.
#4. Make sure to delete your BROKEN DATA FOLDER, replace it with ORIGINAL EMPTY DATA FOLDER
#5. Start MySQL. It should be able to start because MySQL is now freshly restored. This is just to check. If can start, stop it now and proceed to next step. Very unlikely you cannot start it, but let me know if you can't.
#6. Copy only the DATABASE FOLDERS from inside the BACKUP FOLDER to the BROKEN DATA FOLDER. Exclude the built-in folders : test, performance_schema, phpmyadmin, mysql
#7. Start MySQL. At this point you can try to go to localhost/phpmyadmin just to check if MySQL works. But you will not see your previous databases/tables at this point. Stop MySQL again.
#8. Copy ibdata1 (the index file) from the BACKUP FOLDER to the BROKEN DATA FOLDER.
#9. Start MySQL. Go to localhost/phpmyadmin, now your previous databases should be there already. Check if it works. If it does not, means your database has some corruption and requires a more complicated method to restore, you can Google "Recover broken mysql from only .ibd and .frm"
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📎 **Useful Link:**
🔗 [XAMPP Archives on SourceForge](https://sourceforge.net/projects/xampp/files/)

🚨 **Important:** If your databases don’t appear even after these steps, they might be corrupted. You may need a more advanced recovery technique. Search for:
**"Recover MySQL from only .ibd and .frm files"**

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#MySQL #XAMPP #DatabaseRecovery #MySQLRepair #phpMyAdmin #FixMySQL #WebDevTutorial #ArkCoding #MySQLTips #XAMPPFix

Видео How to Restore a Broken MySQL Server in XAMPP (Easy Fix Without Data Loss) канала Ark Coding