I ran into an issue where MariaDB in XAMPP refused to start and showed this error:

Table '.\mysql\proxies_priv' is marked as crashed and last (automatic?) repair failed

Fatal error: Can't open and lock privilege tables

Repairing with mysql_upgrade didn’t work, and trying to run aria_chk directly gave:

aria_chk.exe: Got error 'Can't find file' when trying to use aria_log_control

You don't have permission to use '*.MAI'

**Steps that fixed it:**

1. Open a command prompt in C:\xampp\mysql

2. Repair crashed Aria tables using aria_chk.exe. For example:

3. If a table fails due to small sort buffer (e.g., columns_priv.MAI), run safe recover with a larger buffer:

bin\aria_chk.exe -r -o --sort_buffer_size=256M data\mysql\columns_priv.MAI

If needed, stronger version:

bin\aria_chk.exe -r -o -f --sort_buffer_size=512M data\mysql\columns_priv.MAI

4. Delete old Aria log files to reset the engine:

C:\xampp\mysql\data\aria_log.*

C:\xampp\mysql\data\aria_log_control

5. Start MySQL via XAMPP. MariaDB should start normally.

*Why this happens:*

XAMPP sometimes crashes while MariaDB updates privilege tables. The .MAI files (Aria storage engine) get corrupted, preventing the server from starting. Since MariaDB cannot open mysql.* system tables, it shuts down.

**Summary:**

If MariaDB won’t start because proxies_priv, columns_priv, or other .MAI system tables are corrupted:

- Use aria_chk.exe from XAMPP’s mysql\bin

- Repair the specific .MAI files in mysql\data\mysql

- Use -o or a larger --sort_buffer_size if default repair fails

This restores system tables and allows MariaDB to start normally.