A method for performing a consistency check on a database backup of a database is performed without requiring a full recovery of the original database from the database backup. Instead, a database view may be used as a smaller storage requirement tool for providing a transaction-consistent view of portions of an existing full database backup. The database view, in combination with the database backup and transaction log, contains all the information necessary to perform a consistency check on the database backup without a full reconstitution of the original database from the database backup. The consistency check may be run on the database view along with the database backup to verify the integrity of the full database backup to add improved reliability to a database recovery scheme.