Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your MDF file.
You’ll see a preview, if available.
Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.
Convert MDF to another file type
To convert MDF database files to another format, you need Microsoft SQL Server or other Database software.
Convert a file to MDF
To convert other file formats to the "Relational Database File" file type, you need software like Microsoft SQL Server or a similar tool.
About MDF files
The .MDF extension primarily represents two entirely distinct, heavily used file formats. Most commonly, it is a Master Database File for Microsoft SQL Server. In this context, it stores the primary database schema, structured data, and system tables. Alternatively, it serves as a Media Descriptor File, a proprietary CD/DVD disc image format developed for 120%25">Alcohol 120%. Additionally, the automotive industry uses it as an ASAM Measurement Data Format file for vehicle telemetry. These multiple meanings create massive confusion for users. SQL Server .MDF files are extremely complex, proprietary relational databases. They easily exceed gigabytes in size, require a live, running SQL Server instance to attach to, and cannot be opened directly by text editors or web browsers. Without the accompanying transaction log (LDF file), an .MDF database can be corrupt or impossible to mount. If you have an Alcohol 120% disc image, you face different limits. The format is proprietary, often split into tracks, and requires mounting via a virtual drive. Standard web browsers cannot read it natively. To make an .MDF disc image universally readable, you should convert it to an ISO file. For database files, the practical goal is data migration by exporting tables to CSV, SQL dumps, or BAK backups. Because both major .MDF variants are closed and proprietary, standard online converters often fail to process them. Disc images are massive, and database files require dedicated Microsoft engines to interpret the binary structures. Our tool can identify the file format by checking its internal headers, reliably distinguishing a SQL database from a disc image or an automotive telemetry file, and can extract raw text or embedded contents whenever possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your MDF file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert MDF file to ISO, CSV, PDF, SQL, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG or CONF, you can use Microsoft SQL Server or similar software from the "SQL Server Database Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DBF, XML, SQLITE, XLSX, SQL, TSV, ACCDB, YAML, MDB, CSV, ODS or JSON files to MDF, try Microsoft SQL Server or another comparable tool in the "SQL Server Database Storage" category.
The MDF Converter Story
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our MDF converter.