Firebird Remote Desktop Recovery: Description and Detailed Instructions
Last updated 9 August 2026
IBSurgeon offers two types of recovery services for Firebird and InterBase: on-site and remote desktop recovery.
On-site recovery means the customer sends us the database (archived as zip/rar/7z/etc.), and we perform the recovery in our office. For remote desktop recovery, our specialists connect to the customer’s computer and perform the investigation and recovery remotely.
When do you need remote desktop recovery for Firebird?
We recommend remote desktop recovery in the following cases:
- Large databases. Transferring a large database file takes too much time.
- Databases with sensitive information. We can also sign an NDA to provide legal protection.
- Urgent recoveries. Sometimes transferring the database file would take too long - it is faster to connect to the customer’s computer and repair it there.
- Fast investigation followed by recovery on production systems. We connect to the production system and perform the recovery during off-hours.
Overview of the remote desktop recovery process
The typical recovery steps are:
- (Free) You send an email with your recovery request. We review the information you provide and try to give a quote with a minimum and maximum amount, if possible. We can give an exact diagnosis and the exact time/price of recovery only after investigating the corrupted database.
- (Free) If you accept the quoted range, we decide together whether remote desktop recovery is the best option. If it is, we ask you to prepare a computer for recovery according to our instructions (see below).
- (Free) We connect to the recovery computer, shut down Firebird, and rename the database file to prevent regular users from connecting to it. We then make a copy of the original corrupted database file.
- (Free) We upload our tools (directly or with your assistance) and begin the investigation.
- (Free) The investigation usually takes several hours and is free of charge. Based on its results, we give you a final quote (within the minimum/maximum range from step 1), including a time and price estimate. Whenever possible, we also estimate the percentage of data that may be lost.
- If you decide to proceed, we start the recovery. Recovery sometimes takes less time than the investigation, since by then we already know the cause and exact location of the corruption. Once recovery is complete, we put the database back in its original location and restart the Firebird server.
- At this stage, you check the recovered database. If it works correctly, we proceed with payment. If the database could not be recovered, or the data loss exceeds what was estimated in the final quote, you do not have to pay for the failed recovery (unless otherwise agreed separately). If the recovery takes longer than estimated, this does not affect the quoted price.
Preparing for remote desktop recovery of Firebird
The remote computer should run Windows, be reasonably powerful, and have enough free disk space for the recovery operations. A virtualized instance (VMware or similar) with sufficient resources also works. Keep in mind that a slow computer increases recovery time - and therefore your business downtime.
Minimum requirements:
- If the main production server is used for recovery, all users must be disconnected during the investigation and recovery. Firebird or InterBase will not work properly while recovery is in progress.
- OS: Windows 10 or later. Windows is required even for Linux databases, since the database file must be copied and recovered using our Windows-based tools.
- Free disk space: at least twice the size of the database. For example, for an X GB database, you need at least 2X GB of free space. This space can be on a USB or mapped drive, but note that USB/network drives - and drives in virtualized environments - can be slower than a regular HDD.
- Our set of recovery tools must be uploaded to the computer where the investigation and/or recovery will take place.
- RAM: at least 8 GB.
- Full administrative rights. This may sound excessive, but we need full access to all disks, the ability to install different InterBase/Firebird instances, start and stop services, rename and copy database and server configuration files, and access temporary folders. Ideally, you would set up a clean Windows computer, load the database and our tools onto it, and give us full access. We do not recommend performing recovery directly on production servers.
Additional software that may be needed:
- Various versions of Firebird - some corruptions are easier to fix on a specific engine version.
- Firebird source code and Microsoft Visual Studio (various versions, plus SDK). Sometimes the only way to locate and fix an error is to use a special debug build of Firebird and trace the problem within it.
- .NET Framework 2.0 or higher (required for FBScanner).
Tip: A standard workstation with 8 GB RAM, a fast SSD or HDD, and Windows 10 or later is usually a good enough choice.
Remote desktop software
To let us connect, you need to install a remote access tool. We usually recommend Terminal Server, VNC, Citrix, or RAdmin. Services such as GoToMyPC, LogMeIn, and similar tools also work. If necessary, we can install custom software such as a VPN client.
To connect, we typically just need the IP address of the computer with the database to be recovered, along with a login and password.
If you use a VPN, please provide the VPN connection details first.
Price and time
Remote desktop recovery is more expensive than standard in-office recovery. This is because it requires synchronized work - for standard recovery, we can schedule a corrupted database and work on it at a convenient time, whereas remote desktop recovery often means working outside normal hours (we are based in Central Europe).
Remote desktop recovery prices start from EUR 500, with an average price of roughly EUR 1,400-1,800.
| Recovery type | Time | Price (EUR) | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard corruption recovery | 1-3 hours | 500-1,100 | 1-2 tables corrupted, no system area corruption |
| Medium corruption recovery | 3-7 hours | 1,100-1,400 | 3-5 tables corrupted, system area corrupted |
| Heavy corruption recovery | 7-24 hours | 1,400-2,600 | More than 5 tables corrupted, system area corrupted, record-level errors |
| Ultra-heavy corruption recovery | 24+ hours | 2,600+ | Individual estimate based on the corruption |
For reference, cases priced above EUR 3,000 are very rare. Every corruption case is unique and requires its own investigation and quote.
The minimum time for remote desktop recovery is 3-3.5 actual hours (starting from the first successful login to the remote computer). The average is 6-8 hours (i.e., one working day).