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At times, when attempting to initiate the directory service on an MS Exchange Server, you may encounter the following error message prominently displayed on your computer screen:

Unable to initiate the Microsoft Exchange Directory service on \SERVERNAME, encountering Error 2140: An internal Windows NT error has occurred.

When the preceding error message occurs, the following events are logged in the Application log:

Event ID: 109

Source: ESE97
Type: Information
MSExchangeDS (988) the database engine is replaying log file R:\LogFiles\DSAData\edb.log.

Event ID: 110

Source: ESE97
Type: Information
MSExchangeDS (988) the database engine has successfully completed recovery steps.

Event ID: 0

Source: ESE97
Type: Information
MSExchangeDS (988) -510

Event ID: 1166

Source: ESE97
Type: Information
Error -510 has occurred (internal ID 2030148). Contact Microsoft Technical Support for assistance.

Event ID: 1002

Source: ESE97
Type: Information
The Microsoft Exchange Server database (EDB) could not be initialized and returned error -510. Unrecoverable error, the directory can’t continue.

Reason for 0xFFFFFE02 JET_errLogWriteFail

The error number -510 in the preceding events refers the JET_errLogWriteFail message. This error message generally occurs when the .log file gets damaged.

Solution

Following steps help you to resolve the specified error message:

  1. Backup the current database either in offline mode or in online mode.
  2. Now, you need to check the consistency of Dir.edb file. You can check the consistency of Dir.edb file by executing the following command:
    eseutil /mh Dir.edb
  3. After executing the command check the output to notice the state of Dir.edb file. If the output states the file is consistent then remove all .log files and start the directory service. But, if the Dir.edb file is found inconsistent then restore it from backup.
  4. If you restore the Dir.edb file from online backup then replay the transaction logs that are older than the transaction log. But, if you restore the Dir.edb from offline backup then remove the database and transaction log directories and restore the Dir.edb file only.

Final words

If you’d prefer not to undergo the recovery process manually, consider employing Kernel for Exchange Server Recovery software. With this user-friendly tool, all you have to do is locate the damaged .EDB file, and the software will repair corrupt Exchange database. This professional-grade repair and recovery solution is designed to reconstruct corrupted EDB files efficiently. It enables you to mend a damaged Exchange database, regardless of the cause, and retrieve your data without any loss. The EDB to PST converter software is compatible with nearly all versions of Microsoft Exchange Server, spanning from Exchange Server 5.0 to Exchange Server 2016, ensuring broad utility.

Kernel for Exchange Server