SQL Server Error 824

Error number

824

Severity

24 (fatal: the connection ends; may indicate a serious problem)

State

2

Product

Microsoft SQL Server Database Engine

Versions

All supported SQL Server versions (2016 to 2025), Azure SQL Managed Instance

Category

Corruption & Consistency

Last reviewed

23 October 2026

What it means

Error 824 means Windows read a database page without complaint but SQL Server found the page damaged, which almost always points to a storage, driver or hardware problem.

SQL Server checks every page it reads: its checksum, its torn-page bits, that it is the page it asked for, and more. Error 824 means the read itself succeeded but one of these checks failed; the text after the colon names the check (for example incorrect checksum or incorrect pageid). The closely related error 823 means Windows reported the read or write as failed.

Severity 24 is a hardware or media error: the query fails and the connection is closed. The damage is in the data file, so it will not go away by retrying. Treat 824 as an urgent integrity incident: find out how much is damaged, fix the storage path, and restore from a clean backup. SQL Server records the page in msdb.dbo.suspect_pages.

Common causes

• A failing disk, controller or storage array, or outdated firmware.
• A faulty or outdated storage driver, multipath software or virtualisation storage driver.
• Filter drivers in the I/O path, such as antivirus or backup agents, interfering with database files.
• Write caching that does not survive a power loss, leaving a partly written (torn) page.

Diagnose it

Read-only These queries only read metadata and dynamic management views. They do not change data, permissions or configuration, so they are safe to run first.

SELECT DB_NAME(database_id) AS database_name, file_id, page_id,
       event_type, error_count, last_update_date
FROM msdb.dbo.suspect_pages
WHERE event_type IN (1, 2, 3);

SELECT name, page_verify_option_desc
FROM sys.databases
WHERE page_verify_option_desc <> 'CHECKSUM';

DBCC CHECKDB (N'AppDb') WITH NO_INFOMSGS, ALL_ERRORMSGS;

EXEC sp_readerrorlog 0, 1, N'I/O error';
EXEC sp_readerrorlog 0, 1, N'Error: 825';

How to fix it

Each fix is labelled with what it changes. Try read-only checks and the least invasive fix first, and test changes outside production.

-- Example: restore a single damaged page, then roll forward with log backups
RESTORE DATABASE AppDb PAGE = '1:43686'
FROM DISK = N'D:\Backups\AppDb_full.bak'
WITH NORECOVERY;
-- then RESTORE LOG ... WITH NORECOVERY for each log backup,
-- take a new log backup, restore it, and finish WITH RECOVERY.

ALTER DATABASE AppDb SET PAGE_VERIFY CHECKSUM;

Examples

A query that reads a damaged page

Shown as documented by Microsoft; not reproduced here because it requires damaging a data file. The query fails and the connection is closed. The error log also records Error: 824, Severity: 24, State: 2.

SELECT * FROM dbo.Orders;

Msg 824, Level 24, State 2, Line 1
SQL Server detected a logical consistency-based I/O error: incorrect pageid (expected 1:43686; actual 0:0). It occurred during a read of page (1:43686) in database ID 23 at offset 0x0000001554c000 in file 'D:\SqlData\AppDb.mdf'. Additional messages in the SQL Server error log or operating system error log may provide more detail. This is a severe error condition that threatens database integrity and must be corrected immediately. Complete a full database consistency check (DBCC CHECKDB). This error can be caused by many factors; for more information, see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2252374.

How to prevent it

Keep PAGE_VERIFY CHECKSUM on for every database, back up WITH CHECKSUM, and run DBCC CHECKDB on a schedule (or on restored copies) so damage is found early. Alert on errors 823, 824 and 825 and on new rows in msdb.dbo.suspect_pages.

Most importantly, test restores. A backup you have restored recently is what turns an 824 into a short outage rather than data loss.

Common questions

Learn more on CodeWithSQL

• Working with large databases

Official documentation

• MSSQLSERVER_824 (Microsoft Learn)
• Manage the suspect_pages table
• Restore pages (SQL Server)
• DBCC CHECKDB (Transact-SQL)

Last technically reviewed 23 October 2026; examples and diagnostics run on SQL Server 2025 (17.0.1145.4). Message text checked against the engine's sys.messages catalogue.