Microsoft KB Archive/328763

= Troubleshooting a Corrupted Exchange Database =

PSS ID Number: 328763

Article Last Modified on 11/12/2003

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
 * Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server
 * Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Premium Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q328763



SUMMARY
The Exchange database can become corrupted in different ways, for example, if the Exchange server is shut down incorrectly or if the hard disk is defective. Because it may be difficult to correct a corrupted Exchange database, Microsoft recommends that you perform regular backups of the Exchange database. This article describes how to troubleshoot a corrupted Exchange database.



MORE INFORMATION
When an Exchange database is corrupted, you may not see any warning signs, or you may experience the following symptoms:
 * You may not be able to access the Global Address List.
 * Event 1018 is logged in the application event log, and the hardware failures are logged in the system log.
 * The client computer may appear to stop responding (hang) for a while.
 * You may receive a &quot;failure to connect to the Exchange server&quot; message when you click New message to create a new message.

When these symptoms occur, shut down all Exchange services, and then restart the server. Databases like the information store may take a while to shut down depending on their size. When you restart the server, all major services automatically start. If a service does not start, you receive a warning message. You can try to restore the database by using the last known good backup before you run any tools. You can also have the hardware vendor examine the hardware. It is best to use the database repair tools that are described in this article as a last resort.

You can use the Eseutil command-line utility for both the Information Store service and directory services. To view a list of options that you can use with the Eseutil utility, type eseutil /? . Use this utility to perform a recovery operation, to check the integrity of the database, or to perform a repair operation of the database. When you use this utility, Microsoft recommends that you use the recovery option to get the database back to a consistent state, and then use the integrity checking option on the database. After you perform this procedure, restart the service that did not start.

You can use the Isinteg command-line utility to check the integrity of the information store database. Run the Isinteg utility after you perform the recovery option using Eseutil. Use Isinteg with the test option to scan the information store database for any errors. After you do so, restart the Information Store service.

For additional information about troubleshooting a corrupted database, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

266689 XADM: The ESEUTIL/CC Command Does Not Work on Cluster Server

182903 XADM: ESEUTIL Command Line Parameters

170091 XADM: Location of the Eseutil Utility

252961 XADM: ISINTEG Does Not Display All Databases

178311 XADM: Error Running ISINTEG on a Cluster Server

For additional information about troubleshooting issues on Exchange 2000 servers on which antivirus software is installed, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

245822 XGEN: Recommendations for Troubleshooting an Exchange Computer with Antivirus Software Installed

Additional query words: XADM

Keywords: KB328763

Technology: kbExchange2000Search kbExchange2000Serv kbExchange2000ServSearch kbExchangeSearch kbExchangeServ2003Ent kbExchangeServ2003Search kbExchangeServ2003St kbSBServ2003Pre kbSBServ2003Search kbSBServ2003St kbSBServSearch

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