Mailboxes

DATABASE CORRUPTION IN EXCHANGE…PRT3

 In this section we will look at exporting the damaged page file to a text file. Name the txt file in relation to the page file itself so as below this relates to page 3106. Therefore, you could use the following command to create a file called 3106.TXT.

This must be run from the \Program Files\EXCHSRVR\BIN directory

eseutil /m “d:\program files\exchsrvr\mdbdata\pri

1.edb” /p3106 >3106.txt

After running the command you will see the text file created.
Microsoft(R) Exchange Server(TM) Database Utilities
Version 6.0
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation 1991-2000.  All Rights Reserved.
Initiating FILE DUMP mode…     
Database: d:\program files\exchsrvr\mdbdata\priv1.edb
Page: 3106
pgnoThis <0×02360004,  4>:  3106 (0×00000064)
objidFDP <0×02360018,  4>:  11 (0×0000000b)
ulChecksumParity <0×02360000,  4>:  466674925 (0×1bd0e4ed)
dbtimeDirtied <0×02360008,  8>:  216893 (0×0000000000034f3d)
cbFree <0×0236001c,  2>:  4026 (0×0fba)
ibMicFree <0×02360020,  2>:  3265 (0×0cc1)
itagMicFree <0×02360022,  2>:  2 (0×0002)
cbUncommittedFree <0×0236001e,  2>:  0 (0×0000)
pgnoNext <0×02360014,  4>:  0 (0×00000000)
pgnoPrev <0×02360010,  4>:  0 (0×00000000)
fFlags <0×02360024,  4>:  3141 (0×00000c45)
Parent of leaf
Internal page
Root page
FDP page
Multiple Extent Space (ParentFDP: 97, pgnoOE: 340)
Index page (non-unique keys)
TAG   0    cb:   16    ib:    0    offset:  28 -  37    flags: 0×0000
TAG   1    cb:    6    ib: 3259    offset: ce3 - ce8    flags: 0×0000
Operation completed successfully in 1.91 seconds.

Things to Note:
When I generated my report, I picked page number 3106 at random. As you can see at the bottom of the text file, page 3106 is an index page. If you ever have to repair a 1018 error, you’ll usually lose all of the data on the page that you encountered the error on. Of course, that’s assuming that the error occurred on a leaf page. An index page links too many other pages. Therefore, if the page that I selected had actually been damaged, I might have lost the index page and all related leaf pages. This could possibly lead to a complete breakdown of the entire database. Fortunately, Exchange is really good about rebuilding structural components, such as index pages.

When you browse the file you can see the page number and previous page number and the next database pages. Also you should pick out the checksum parity bit number and you can use all this info when attempting to repair the database.

You also need to realize that you can get false 1018 errors. Now and then a faulty disk cache or a faulty hard drive will cause data to be read from a location other than the correct location specified by Exchange. When this happens the database is initially corrupt and you have a serious problem on your hands because the disks actions will soon cause the database to become totally corrupt.

At this stage you probably really need to understand about repairing a corrupt database which Ill talk about more in another post. For now understand how to read the txt file which will help you resolve and repair.

Recipient Policies What Are They?

Recipient Policies What Are They?

Recipient policies are organisation wide objects held in the “Recipient Policies” container – a sub container of Recipients. When you install Exchange the program creates a default policy and you can then create as many policies as you want to after. Although you must keep the default policy and you cannot delete it.

Message tracking event IDs in Exchange Server 2003

Here are some of the event IDs that are logged to message tracking log files. You can enable message tracking logs to track or to troubleshoot the flow or status of a message in Exchange Server 2003 as shown in previous blog. You can record information about the sender, the message, and the recipient. If you want to log more detailed information, you can also record the subject line of messages.

By default, the tracking logs are located in the C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\YourServerName.log folder. Each daily log is named in the yyyymmdd.log format according to the date that the log was created. The file name date is in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Here is a list of event ID’s and there meaning. You can import this log file into Excel which makes it easier to read as opening the text file is too busy.

A few FAQ’s
Q1: When a message is generated in the system for the first time, what event is associated with that message in the tracking log?
A1: There are different events for different message submission paths to Exchange Server 2003. For example, for messages that are submitted through the SMTP component, the first event ID in the tracking log is 1019. For messages that are submitted through the Store component, the first event ID in the tracking log is 1027.
Q2: Is there one event ID that covers the creation of all messages and that only appears one time per message?
A2: There is no one event that covers the creation of all messages because messages can be created in various ways by various clients, remote servers, and pickup directory. It would make no sense to use the same event for all these code paths. Or, it would be impossible to use the same event for all these code paths. However, event 1019 is logged when any message enters Inetinfo-side transport processing. The tracking log may frequently contain multiple 1019 events that have the same message ID. For example, this may occur if the server is restarted multiple times during a period when the remote destination for the particular message is down. On each restart, the message is resubmitted, and event 1019 is logged. This is expected behavior.
Q3: Why are there multiple 1020 and 1031 events that are logged for the same message ID?
A3: This is expected behavior. The same message ID can be transferred out multiple times. When the same message ID is transferred out multiple times, events 1020 and 1031 are generated.

Uninstall Exchange Server 2003

Firstly I need to apologize for the delay between posts, I have been attending to some business which kept me away and will acknowledge next time should I expect a large gap again.I’m going to get straight into the correct way to uninstall Exchange 2003 from a server. I have a systems Administrator who has this task in hand and I’ve done this for him and others.
Let’s do it!

You must ensure you meet the prerequisites before you attempt this and they are as follows:

• If you have Exchange Full Administrator permissions at the administrative group level, you can uninstall Exchange Server 2003, provided that you have permissions for the administrative group to which the server belongs.

• If there are any mailboxes assigned to a storage group on a server, you cannot uninstall Exchange Server 2003 from that server. In this case, you must either move or delete the mailboxes before you can uninstall Exchange.

• You cannot uninstall Exchange Server 2003 from a server if it is the only server in your organization running the Recipient Update Service. Instead, you must first use Exchange System Manager to enable the Recipient Update Service on another server.

• You cannot uninstall Exchange Server 2003 from a server if it is the only server in a mixed administrative group that is running Site Replication Service (SRS). Instead, you must first enable SRS on another Exchange server.

• You cannot uninstall Exchange Server 2003 from a server if it is a bridgehead server for a connector and there are other Exchange servers in your organization. Instead, you must first designate a new bridgehead server.

• You cannot uninstall Exchange Server 2003 from a server if it is the routing master and there are other Exchange servers in your organization. Instead, you must first designate a new routing master.

Now before you remove the server from a production environment that has multiple servers in the administrative group, understand that you need to know all the servers roles that are held by this machine. Make sure you move your roles to other machines. Example: If the server is listed as a bridgehead server on a connector you will have to move this before uninstall will work. Failure to do this could cause many things including the following:

• Mail flow may stop if the server is a bridgehead server.

• Mail flow will be totally screwed if the server is the routing group master.

• Outlook issue and OWA issues so confirm and check before attempting the uninstall.

Before you remove Exchange 2003, you must disconnect all mailbox-enabled users from the mailboxes on the Exchange server. It is not possible to remove an Exchange Server when it has mounted mailboxes. If you are getting this error check out the following “One or more users currently use this mailbox store. These users must be moved to a different mailbox store or be mail disabled before deleting this store”A good way to try to find these missing users is to use Active Directory Users and Computers. Here’s what to do:

1. Run ADUC.(Active Directory Users and computers – come on!)

2. Right-click your domain at the top, and choose Find.

3. Click the Advanced tab, and then choose User from the Field button.

4. From the list of attributes displayed, choose Exchange Home Server.

5. Set the Condition field to Ends With and then type your Exchange server name into the Value field. Click Add to add this value.

6. Now click the Find button, and hopefully you’ll see the troublesome user listed in the results window.

You should then be able to remove the Exchange attributes from these user accounts and proceed with the un install.

To uninstall Exchange Server 2003

1. Log on to the server from which you want to uninstall Exchange.
2. Click Start, point to Control Panel, and then click Add or Remove Programs.
3. In Add or Remove Programs, select Microsoft Exchange, and then click Change/Remove.
4. On the Welcome to the Microsoft Exchange Installation Wizard page, click Next.
5. On the Component Selection page, in the Action column, use the drop-down arrows to select Remove, and then click Next.

Follow the bouncing ball and Exchange should uninstall.