Check Oracle data files with DBVERIFY

DBVERIFY is Oracle's command-line utility for checking physical data structures. It can check data files from an online or offline database, including backup data files before restoration.

Its scope matters: it is for data files, not control files or redo logs, and a successful check is not a complete test of a recovery plan. Review the Oracle DBVERIFY documentation for your version and storage configuration.

File and log parameters

The original Windows CMD example is:

dbv file=C:\Oracle\ORCL\system01.dbf logfile=C:\ArhivoLog.log

file identifies the data file; logfile selects the output log. The original log filename is deliberately retained. Before adapting the example, check the file, permissions and a writable log destination that will not overwrite a needed log.

Also verify the data-file block size. Oracle's documented default is 2 KB; specify BLOCKSIZE when the file uses a different block size. For example, append blocksize=8192 only after confirming an 8 KB block size. ASM files have additional requirements described in the manual.

Output recorded in the original article

DBVERIFY: Release 12.1.0.2.0 - Production on Sun Jan 10 11:10:38 2021
Copyright (c) 1982, 2014, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
DBVERIFY - Verification starting : FILE = C:\ORACLE\ORCL\SYSTEM01.DBF
DBVERIFY - Verification complete
Total Pages Examined        : 107520
Total Pages Processed (Data): 69849
Total Pages Failing   (Data): 0
Total Pages Processed (Index): 16260
Total Pages Failing  (Index): 0
Total Pages Processed (Other): 4119
Total Pages Processed (Seg) : 1
Total Pages Failing   (Seg) : 0
Total Pages Empty          : 17292
Total Pages Marked Corrupt : 0
Total Pages Influx         : 0
Total Pages Encrypted      : 0
Highest block SCN          : 689907898 (0.689907898)

This is the original 2021 sample, not output from a new check. Read all diagnostic messages and investigate failures rather than judging a file from one line alone.

Checking several files

The site also provides DBVerifyLog, a tool for checking files in a folder and reviewing each file's log. Read its instructions and the DBVERIFY requirements before using it in your environment.