How to Repair a Corrupt Exchange Database?

Read time 8 min

Exchange Server from Microsoft has revolutionized professional email communication in enterprises. Now email communication within and outside the organization has become more convenient and easier irrespective of the size of the firm.

To make the messages completely secure, Microsoft has introduced a lot of features in Exchange. But still, many threats are roaming around to damage the database. These threats make the Exchange database corrupt and inaccessible. Some major causes of Exchange database corruption are –

• Virus attack
• User error
• Abrupt shutdown
• Application malfunction
• Error in database objects
• Improper changes in the database schema

Security features of Exchange Server 2019

The latest version of Exchange Server has upgraded the security features to safeguard the user mailboxes. Some of the prominent features are following-

Windows Server Core Support – Using Exchange Server on Windows covers a lesser surface area. It reduces the chances of external attacks.

Block external access to Exchange admin center (EAC) and the Exchange Management Shell – There is a Client Access Rule to block the external usage of Exchange Admin Center and Exchange Management Shell.

TLS 1.2 is the only version that’s enabled by default – For the betterment of client and server connections, the default encryption will be TLS 1.2 only. The older algorithms like DES, 3DES, RC2, RC4, and MD5 will remain disabled.

Let’s see the two methods to recover the lost data from a corrupt Exchange database and export EDB to PST

• Manual method using Eseutil utility
• Automated method using Kernel for Exchange Server

Manual Method Using Eseutil Utility

Eseutil is an inbuilt tool within the Exchange Server which is useful to repair the corrupt databases, defragment them, check database integrity, and reduce the size.
The default location of the tool in Exchange 2013/2016 is –

C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Bin

The functional aspect of Eseutil tool is quite broad, and you can perform following actions using multiple switches –

• To repair the database – eseutil /p
• To defragment the database –eseutil /d
• To restore the database – eseutil /r
• To verify checksum in the database – eseutil /k
• To check the database integrity – eseutil /g
• To do hard recovery– eseutil /c
• To display the headers, logs or checkpoint files – eseutil /m
• To copy database and log files – eseutil /y

Use ESEUTIL to Defragment the Database.

Before starting defragmentation of the database, you should save a backup of the database in case of emergency.

1. First, dismount the database from Exchange.
   Dismount-Database –Identity <name of the database>

   

2. Run Eseutil /d command
   eseutil /d <name of the database> /T <location of temporary path>

   

3. After successfully running the Eseutil command, mount the database back to Exchange.
   Mount-Database –Identity <name of the database>

   

4. Repair the database with Eseutil /p command.
   eseutil /p <location of the database>

   

5. Finally, run the new-mailbox repair request command to fix the errors in the database.

You can try this command multiple times to eleminate all issues in the Exchange database.

Automated Exchange Recovery Using Kernel for Exchange Server

Kernel for Exchange Server recovery is a professional Exchange EDB to PST converter tool which can fully recover a corrupt Exchange database by retrieving the mailboxes (even the deleted ones). It has quite a simple interface and completes the recovery process in minimum steps possible. Here are the complete steps to repair Exchange Database –

1. Launch the software and click the Offline EDB icon.
   
2. Select the first option of Offline EDB File
   
3. Browse the corrupt EDB file.
   
   NOTE – If you do not know the location of EDB file, then click the Search button. It will help to search the EDB file from any folder or drive.
   
4. Select among the two scan options – Standard Scan and Deep Scan.
   
5. All the data is recovered. Click Finish.
   
6. The EDB data gets added as the source and the mailboxes get listed as in the Exchange.
   
7. Select an item from the mailbox folder and click Preview button. The tool will present its preview.
   
8. To save a mailbox or message, click PST File option
   
9. Select the Create New PST file option to create a new PST file.
   
10. Enter the destination folder, provide a new name for PST file and click Next.
    
11. A new PST file is created at the specified location.
    
12. Now you can copy mailbox, folder, or messages from the EDB file to the PST file.

Conclusion

Both the tools – Eseutil utility and Kernel for Exchange Server— are useful to recover a corrupt database. But the Kernel for Exchange Server is capable of handling all types of corruption, whereas the Eseutil just checks the health of Exchange database and does not guarantee a full recovery. So, use the Kernel for Exchange Recovery tool to handle Exchange server errors correctly .

Watch Complete Video to Repair a Corrupt Exchange Database

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Expert Reviews on TechNet: Repair corrupted EDB file and convert in PST file.