You can repair Exchange 2000 database files (.edb files) using these Exchange 2000 utilities: Eseutil.exe and Isinteg.exe (Eseutil replaces the Edbutil utility that was used with previous versions of Exchange).
Consider the following information when repairing Exchange 2000 databases:
- Repairing Exchange databases with Eseutil and Isinteg can result in losing data in the Exchange databases you repair.
For this reason, you should copy the database files you are repairing prior to attempting the repair process. For information about how to copy your database files, see "Copying or Moving the Existing Versions of the Database Files That You are Restoring".
- Because you cannot undo changes that were made to a database during the repair process, only use Eseutil and Isinteg as a last resort. It is recommended that you recover a damaged database by restoring a backup set rather than repairing a database.
- If you use Eseutil to repair an Exchange 2000 database, you must have enough free disk space for Eseutil to make a copy of the database being repaired. Before you begin the repair process, ensure that the amount of disk space on the hard drive containing your database files is greater than the size of the database being repaired.
- Using the Eseutil and Isinteg utilities to repair a database file takes a substantial amount of time. Typically, it takes much longer to repair a database than it does to restore a database from backup.
- If both utilities run successfully (for example, if there are not any errors at the end of the last Isinteg run), the database is generally considered to be repaired and ready to replace the damaged database.
- If Eseutil and Isinteg are unable to fix every error in the database, you should not discard a repaired database. You should only discard a repaired database if you experience specific problems with it; for example, if a database does not mount after completing the repair process, you should discard that database.
- You can restore data from a damaged database by using an alternate server. For example, you can restore a damaged database to an alternate server, extract data from it using the Exmerge utility, and then insert the data into a new database file.
For more information about the Eseutil and Isinteg utilities, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q259851, "XADM: Ramifications of Running the ESEUTIL /P or EDBUTIL /D /R Command" (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=3052&ID=259851).
For information about the various command-line switches and usage of Eseutil and Isinteg, see Microsoft Knowledge Base articles Q182903, "XADM: ESEUTIL Command Line Parameters" (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=3052&ID=182903) and Q182081, "XADM: Description of Isinteg Utility" (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=3052&ID=182081).
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
- Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition
- Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Premium Edition
- Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Standard Edition
- Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server
