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Description

This error indicates that a specific table's internal structure or metadata is in an inconsistent state or incompatible with the current server. This often occurs after certain schema modifications, data corruption events, or version upgrades, preventing normal operations until the table is rebuilt.

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Error Message

Table rebuild required. Please do ALTER TABLE `%s` FORCE or dump/reload to fix it!

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Known Causes

3 known causes

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Inconsistent Schema Modifications

Applying certain `ALTER TABLE` operations, especially complex ones or those that fail prematurely, can leave a table's internal definition in an inconsistent state.

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MariaDB Server Upgrades

Upgrading to a new major MariaDB server version can sometimes render existing table structures incompatible, requiring an update to their internal format.

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Abnormal Server Termination

An unexpected server shutdown or crash can lead to partially written table updates or metadata inconsistencies, necessitating a table rebuild.

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Solutions

3 solutions available

1. Immediate Rebuild with ALTER TABLE FORCE easy

Quickly rebuilds the table in-place using MariaDB's built-in command.

1

Connect to your MariaDB server.

2

Execute the ALTER TABLE FORCE command for the affected table. Replace `your_table_name` with the actual table name mentioned in the error message.

ALTER TABLE `your_table_name` FORCE;

3

Verify that the error is resolved by attempting the operation that previously caused it.

2. Dump and Reload with mysqldump medium

A more thorough method involving exporting and re-importing the table data.

1

Connect to your MariaDB server.

2

Export the structure and data of the affected table using `mysqldump`. Replace `your_database_name` and `your_table_name` accordingly. The `--no-create-info` flag can be used if you only want to dump data, but for this error, dumping both is safer.

mysqldump -u your_username -p your_database_name your_table_name > table_dump.sql

3

Optionally, you can drop the problematic table if you are confident in your dump. This is not strictly necessary for the dump/reload fix but can be done to ensure a clean slate.

DROP TABLE `your_table_name`;

4

Import the dumped data back into the database. If you dropped the table, this will recreate it. If not, it will rebuild it.

mysql -u your_username -p your_database_name < table_dump.sql

5

Remove the temporary dump file.

rm table_dump.sql

6

Verify that the error is resolved.

3. Repair Table with myisamchk (for MyISAM tables) medium

Specifically for MyISAM tables, this tool can check and repair table corruption.

1

Ensure MariaDB server is stopped.

2

Locate the `.MYD` and `.MYI` files for the affected table within your MariaDB data directory. The location varies based on your OS and MariaDB configuration.

3

Run `myisamchk` to check and repair the table files. Replace `/path/to/your/table.MYI` with the actual path to the table's index file. The `-r` flag attempts to recover.

myisamchk -r /path/to/your/table.MYI

4

Start the MariaDB server.

5