Error 3241: The media family on device is incorrectly formed Print

Sometimes we may receive the below error message when restoring the database from the backup file using SQL Server Management Studio:

The media family on device 'Backupfile.bak' is incorrectly formed. SQL Server cannot process this media family.
RESTORE HEADERONLY is terminating abnormally. (Microsoft SQL Server, Error: 3241)

Cause:

The backup file was corrupted due to file uploaded using FTP Text Mode.

Solution:

Need to always upload the backup file using FTP in Binary Mode, and then the restore operation will be successful.

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