Use sp_DatabaseRestore for restore when database does not exist

Question

I am trying to use sp_DatabaseRestore from the SQL Server First Responder Kit to restore some databases. It works fine if I first restore the database in a normal way using SSMS, but if the database does not previously exist, it says that it could not find the file specified (for both data an log-files).

It also ends with the following message:

The database "DatabaseName" does not exist. RESTORE can only create a database when restoring either a full backup or a file backup of the primary file.

But the first path is for the full backup, so I am not sure what this means.

Is there some particular use of the parameters that would help me use this even when the database does not exist, or am I forced to create them first?

Any suggestions appreciated.

Edit: Code that is used (paths and names have been changed). The code fails if the database does not exist. If I create the database, then it works:

DECLARE @VersionDate datetime;
EXEC dbo.sp_DatabaseRestore @Database = N'DatabaseName', 
 @BackupPathFull = N'\\SERVERNAME\Backup\servername-wfcs$ServerNameAG01\DatabaseName\FULL\', 
 @BackupPathLog = N'\\SERVERNAME\Backup\servername-wfcs$ServerNameAG01\DatabaseName\LOG\', 
 @MoveFiles = 0, 
 @ContinueLogs = 0, 
 @RunRecovery = 1, 
 @ForceSimpleRecovery = 0,
 @Debug = 0,
 @VersionDate = @VersionDate OUTPUT

Edit 2: Turns out there was a difference in the data-file folder names between the old and the new server. The old server had a version-number lower than the actual version of the SQL Server, probably due to an earlier in place upgrade. When trying to restore from a backup with correct data folder, there is no problem.

• Denis Rubashkin: The first googled link has an answer: brentozar.com/archive/2017/03/…
• GHauan: @DenisRubashkin Thanks for your comment. However I have read that documentation already (and once again now), and I can't really find anything there that answers my question. If you found the answer in there, I would appreciate it if you could narrow it down for me where to look in that link.
• Erik Reasonable Rates Darling: Can you post the command you're using now that isn't working?
• Denis Rubashkin: Specify variables MoveFiles = 1, MoveDataDrive = YourDataLocation and MoveLogDrive = YourLogLocation" - I believe it should help
• GHauan: @sp_BlitzErik Hi Erik, I edited my post and added the code.

Answer 1

Turns out there was a difference in the data-file folder names between the old and the new server. The old server had a version-number lower than the actual version of the SQL Server, probably due to an earlier in place upgrade. When trying to restore from a backup with correct data folder, there is no problem.