derek.colley (3/7/2012)
3. Lift n' shift the database .mdf files from one instance to another. Doing it this way means you'll lose much proprietary info such as logins, certificates etc. but if you're not using these features and are more concerned with data salvage, this will be your last option.
For this third option, I'd like to add a word of warning. The deprecated sp_attach_single_file_db procedure, or its replacement, the FOR ATTACH_REBUILD_LOG option of the CREATE DATABASE statement, are mainly intended as a means of disaster recovery after losing a transaction log; they are not guaranteed to always work without data loss (especially if the database has not been shutdown cleanly).
Obviously, when you are locked out of a server and the alternative to FOR ATTACH_REBUILD_LOG is simply losing the entire database, it is a good option to consider.