Experiment: I setup Sql server in a testlab, copied the system DB mdfs\ldfs and user mdf\ldf to a new folder, stopped sql server and deleted the original system databases. Sql Server will no longer start. My goal is to get Sql Server running by using only the sql backups I made. All the documentation I find says that to restore the master database ("step 1") I need to start Sql server in single user mode. In my case sql server will not start at all (in any mode) as the system databases are missing. How then do I "bootstrap" sql server into the running state?
TIA,
edm2