Microsoft KB Archive/305500

= Cannot Repair the Active Directory Database by Using the Ntdsutil Tool =

PSS ID Number: 305500

Article Last Modified on 10/11/2002

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server

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This article was previously published under Q305500



SYMPTOMS
When you try to use the Ntdsutil tool to repair the Active Directory database (the Ntds.dit file), you may not be able to perform an integrity check or to repair the database successfully. You may receive error messages similar to the following:

Operation failed because the database was inconsistent.

Initialize jet database failed; cannot access file.

Error while performing soft recovery.



RESOLUTION
To resolve this behavior, use the Esentutl.exe tool to perform an integrity check and to repair the database:  To perform the integrity check, start a command prompt, type the following command (including the quotation marks), and then press ENTER:

esentutl /g &quot; \ntds.dit&quot; /!10240 /8 /v /x /o

where  is the path to the folder that contains the Ntds.dit file. By default, this folder is C:\Winnt\Ntds.

 To repair the database, type the following command (including the quotation marks), and then press ENTER:

esentutl /p &quot; \ntds.dit&quot; /!10240 /8 /v /x /o

 Delete the database log files from the Winnt/Ntds folder. Do not delete or move the Ntds.dit file.

Keywords: kberrmsg kbnetwork kbprb KB305500

Technology: kbwin2000AdvServ kbwin2000AdvServSearch kbwin2000Search kbwin2000Serv kbwin2000ServSearch kbWinAdvServSearch

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