SQL Server 2019 – Repeated Recovery Mode and Backup Failure After Server Shutdown

It sounds like SQL Server is running crash recovery on every restart, which is why the database stays in “In Recovery” for about an hour and backups fail until it finishes. This can often be caused by corruption or disk-level issues after the shutdown. You can check the database state first:

SELECT name, state_desc, recovery_model_desc 
FROM sys.databases WHERE name='YourDB';

Then run an integrity check:

DBCC CHECKDB('YourDB') WITH NO_INFOMSGS, ALL_ERRORMSGS;

If corruption is found and you cannot restore from a good backup, you can attempt repair (last resort):

ALTER DATABASE YourDB SET EMERGENCY;
DBCC CHECKDB('YourDB','REPAIR_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS');
ALTER DATABASE YourDB SET ONLINE;

Always back up the MDF/LDF files before running repair. If CHECKDB cannot resolve safely, you may need a dedicated recovery tool like Stellar Repair for MS SQL. Also, review your storage hardware because repeated recovery often indicates underlying I/O issues.