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This is my first post here and its a doosy. I am facing what seems to be a unique situation at the moment. I am in the process of moving my client to a new environment which includes decommissioning super old equipment. One of the last remaining pre-2008 servers is Windows 2000 IBM server running a Sybase SQL Anywhere 8 database with Jaguar. Since this server is so old and still in light use, my primary concern was taking a full backup of data in the event of failure.

The OS on this server is in bad shape and running any exe causes it to hang, so I could not install any third-party backup. I took a full drive and state backup with the native windows backup utility (in safe mode) into a bkd file. After taking a backup now the Jaguar service always hangs on start, so its essentially broken. Rather than fix a 2000 server I want to find a way to get this old database onto a new server.

I restored that backup to a temp 2008 VM by copying the dlls for NTBackup off of the 2000 server so it could hand bkd. This way I could experiment on a non-prod copy of the data.

As one would expect the software doesn't work on a restored copy, partly due to 2000 using WINNT in place of system32, so my focus has shifted to converting the Sybase db file to SQL Server. I did find "Stellar Converter for Database" and ran the db file through that on a trial as a proof of concept and the data preview is in fact readable, but unfortunately I don't think my client will pay the $200. It seems well worth it, but my hands are tied on that front.

I also found the Microsoft "SQL Server Migration Assistant for Sybase" and it seems promising, however it requires I connect to the Sybase db itself, which I cannot do since it is broken. I also tried searching the internet for a download of SQL Anywhere 8 or 9 with no luck. I did find 12, but it was client only.

The previous IT also did not document the logins for this database at all, so its looking grim.

Does anyone have any pointers on options to get this Sybase 8 .db file into a Microsoft SQL Server 2017 (I have ISOs of older ones on hand) .mdf file without access to the actual old db server, and without any credentials?

I know I recently reset an SA account on another of our old SQL Servers by putting the db in offline mode and running some sqlcmd magic, but I am no way familiar with Sybase.

I do not have high hopes and I am fully aware that the answer may be "its dead Jim". I appreciate any input, even if its not what I want to hear.

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    If "I dont think my client will pay the $200" for a working solution, so why you bother? Commented Mar 27, 2020 at 19:04
  • Because I want to do my best with the resources I am allowed. Sometimes in IT we have to just make things work. But like I said I'm realistic in knowing its possible there may not be a way. And thats fine, because even then it means I can take a Windows 2000 server off our network. So either way is a win. Commented Mar 27, 2020 at 19:17
  • Talk with your client and tell them that the time you are spending on this research will cost more than purchasing this software. I bet they have more tasks for you to do. Commented Mar 27, 2020 at 19:29
  • Be aware that SQLAnywhere and "Sybase" are not the same RDMS - when drivers talk about "Sybase" they normally mean what's now called SAP ASE - the one that shares its origins with MS SQLServer. A "Sybase" driver won't work for SQLA. You can download a developers edition of SQLA v17 from SAP - this could be used to upgrade the database. However, as Piotr says, if the data isn't worth $200, why bother? Commented Mar 28, 2020 at 15:51
  • Thanks for the pointers. Just wanted to explore all possible options first. And i do agree that the data isnt worth 200. On the bright side i may be able to kill this windows 2000 server finally Commented Mar 28, 2020 at 22:20

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