Repair Exchange EDB Database Using ESEUTIL Command or Alternative

Exchange Server has now become one of the major platforms for maintaining the database and performing cross communication. Administrator of Exchange must be aware of ESEUTIL, which is a command-line tool. It is capable of performing the outstanding job in Exchange database by repairing damaged Exchange database. It is the primary method to repair Exchange EDB database issues. Sometimes it fails to fix exchange EDB file, this leads the user to look for another solution. In the upcoming segment, we have brought the method to use ESEUTIL command to repair Exchange mailbox database. Apart from this, in the case of failure of ESEUTIL, users can go for an alternative solution as well.

ESEUTIL: Syntax and Commands

To use the command ESEUTIL, users need to run the command prompt. Once it is done, then type this command on the command prompt ESEUTIL /?

All the switches will appear which can be used with the command along with their purpose. We have mentioned some of the ESEUTIL switches in the following section:

1. Defragmentation: ESEUTIL /d: Discarding the whitespace in the Exchange database to decrease the volume on the disk is defragmentation. For an offline, defragmentation users need to generate a fresh database & then shift users to it. It permits the recovery of whitespace discarded. It differs from the online defragmentation, as online Exchange defragmentation does not allow the recovery of discarded whitespace. This is the syntax used for this purpose ESEUTIL /d option]

Note: It is not recommended to use this command to perform frequent maintenance

2. Integrity: ESEUTIL /g: With this switch it can be verified that if the database of Exchange has any inconsistencies. It can check the ESE level & page level database integrity. The syntax of the command is ESEUTIL /m mode-modifier [options]. It is not possible to check the Application integrity level check with the command.

Here, the filename will be replaced by the name & the path of the file whose integrity you want to check. In place of use any of the following:

• H:dump database header (default)
• K:dump checkpoint file
• L:dump log file or set of logs

3. Recovery: ESEUTIL /r: It is used for restoring internal database consistency. Two kinds of Exchange server recoveries are:

• Hard Recovery – It happens when the Transaction log replay process happens after the database restoration from online backup. This recovery can be done with Restore mode in ESEUTIL.
• Soft Recovery – It is done to recover the Exchange data after the unexpected shutdown like a crash of computer system or else forced power down. The syntax for this command is ESEUTIL /r Enn

Here, Enn signifies the log prefix of the log transaction, which you want to play with the data files.

4. File Dump: ESEUTIL /m: This switch shows the database page headers information, space allotment with metadata, file headers, transaction log files & checkpoint files. This is syntax of this command ESEUTIL /m

5. Repair: ESEUTIL /p: This switch repairs a damaged or corrupt offline database of Exchange by clearing that database file that is impossible to repair. The syntax to run this command is ESEUTIL /p

Note: It is suggested to take the backup of the data before the running this command.

6. Checksum: ESEUTIL /k: The command is helpful in knowing the checksum of pages that are present in the log files, checkpoint file & Exchange database. The syntax of this command is ESEUTIL /k

Here, in the filename column enter the name of the file along with the path of that file whose checksum you want to check.

If ESEUTIL Command Fails: SysTools Exchange Recovery is the Solution

ESEUTIL is capable of rectifying minor corruption in the Microsoft Exchange database. Therefore, it is possible that sometimes it fails to work due to a higher level of corruption. In such situations, users can go for a third party tool. One such software that provides guaranteed results is SysTools Exchange EDB Recovery. This ESEUTIL alternative solution repair Exchange mailbox database and can export EDB file to PST effortlessly. It can even recover deleted items from EDB file. Moreover, the tool repairs both the Public, as well as the Private folders of MS Exchange and it, maintains the integrity of the data throughout the complete process. It saves as well load scan Exchange database file for re-scanning the same files. Users can recover dismounted and offline EDB data files and there are no file size limitations to perform the recovery process.

Conclusion

From the above article, we have understood that ESEUTIL is a command to repair corrupt Exchange database. There are different switches in the command to handle out different kind of problems. However, users cannot fully depend on this utility to repair Exchange EDB database, as it does not assure the guaranteed results. Therefore, they can opt for a guaranteed alternative solution by using a third party Exchange repair utility to recover Exchange mailbox from EDB.

Repair Exchange EDB Database Using ESEUTIL Command or Alternative Clark Kent 4.5 of 5

Exchange Server has now become one of the major platforms for maintaining the database and performing cross communication. Administrator of ...