How can I extract data from a database without user id or password?

[Former Member]

I have a Sybase db and I need to be able to extract data without the dba password. It is a database that is not used anymore and we are not using the vendor anymore so we don't have any means to get read only access. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

[MarkCulp]

Which "Sybase db" product do you have? This forum is to handle questions about SQL Anywhere, but there is also several other Sybase database products: UltraLite, ASE (Adaptive Server Enterprise), Sybase IQ, and ADS (Advantage Data Server) to name just a few.

[MarkCulp]

If you have a SQL Anywhere database then you cannot extract any data from your database without a valid DBA userid and password for the database. There are no "back doors" that will allow you to get the data.

If the database was created using a third-party software application then you should contact the vendor of that application in order to get the data out of the database.

If you can prove that the database belongs to you and that you have the rights to the data then Sybase Tech Support may be able to help you get a dump of the data in the SQL Anywhere database, but if the data is encrypted and you do not have the encryption password then there is no method of getting any of the data.

To contact Tech Support click on the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page and then click on "Support Contacts" on the right panel.

[Former Member]

Hey Mark thanks for the response. It is adaptive server enterprise. I can prove that it was purchased but the vendor does not want to give us read only access can I just reset the password by putting -p in the start up parameters?

[MarkCulp]

I don't know much about ASE... This Q&A site is for questions about SQL Anywhere. You need to post your question on one of the newsgroup forums for ASE (see http://forums.sybase.com) or call Tech Support to get your question answered.

[VolkerBarth]

Just to add:

Usually, one would not necessarily need a DBA account to extract data from a SQL Anywhere database. If one can login as a (not too restricted) ordinary database user, one might still be able to extract (at least) some data by just querying the system catalog and by trying which of the existing tables/views/ procedures might return data. Nevertheless, one usually would not be able to find out whether one can access all data without a valid DBA account.