Tips to Recover Exchange Database When Log Files Are Missing
In Summary: The exchange server is the only lifeline of the small organization. However, with the upcoming Office 365 and G Suite, the popularity of the Exchanger server was somewhat affected. More organizations looking for cloud solutions for better management at a low cost. However, the place of the exchange server cannot be ever filled by any enterprise application. It is the powerhouse of the information contained in the thousands of mailboxes. These user mailboxes are stored in a single edb file which is the main database file of the exchange server. Read to know how to recover exchange database without log files.
The effective management of the EDB file is the sole responsibility of the administrator. Even a small error is sufficient to create master disaster mishaps. So, it is a must for the exchange administrator to prepare for any circumstances. It is very good practice to back up the mailboxes to meet any disaster situations to prevent the loss of continuity.
Most of the time it is seen that the Exchange server crashed without any warning message. In such a sudden mishap, the recent backup of the database is the only ray of light in the dark. You can recover the database with these backup files. One thing that must be taken care that the backup file alone cannot recover the exchange server from the crash.
There must be a log file available for the same. If somehow the log files are missing or not available at the moment then in such circumstances how to recover the exchange database? Before proceeding with the recovery methods let’s discuss in brief the importance of logging in to any type of recover Exchange Database.
Why are Log Files Important for Any Exchange Recovery?
Exchange log files are the primary location where every change is recorded first then after it gets updated on the exchange server. Once the input data is entered and added to the exchange server, it simply signs that actions are recorded and committed as ESE or extensible search engines. Let’s discuss it from the basics and try to visualize what happens in the backend. An exchange server is also referred to as a transaction-based email platform. Yes, you guessed it right, the transaction is similar to the transaction in SQL or Oracle.
In exchange, a set of operations is performed by the exchange administrator such as inserting, updating, and deleting data from the mailboxes contained in EDB files. Each of the operations performed is saved first in the log files. This is done to make sure, that if any of the operations performed behaved abnormally, then in such a scenario, the transaction can easily rolled back.
The transactional log files store the data for each second. So this is the only reason for the value of the log file during the disaster.
- The operation performed stores the log files on the disk
- From log files, the data gets committed to the exchange server.
This short interval is the golden opportunity for the administrator to copy the log files and save them to other safe locations.
Read More: Best Exchange Online Backup Software
Consistency and Inconsistency in the Exchange Database
A database can only said to be healthy if it is in consistent form. To verify and ensure that the database is inconsistent form, each of the data saved in the log files must committed to the main database before any shutdown operation. By doing so, the log file gets detached from the exchange server and the database remains in a healthy state.
If somehow the log files are committed to the database because of any unforeseen reasons such as power failure, or hardware issue. In such cases, the log files are still attached to the exchange server, and the data that remains committed is marked as dirty by the Exchange server this error is commonly known as the Exchange dirty shutdown error.
The Exchange server provides the functionality to verify whether the database is in a consistent state or not. You just need to type eseutil/mh {Path of the database}
For More Info: Connection to Exchange Server
Methods to Recover Exchange Database Without Log Files
The process to recover the database is very simple when the log files are available but it is somewhat complex when the logs are not present. Due to the unavailability of the log files, the process will never completed.
- The replay process will not execute due to the missing log files.
- The recovery aborts with multiple unknown error codes. Some of them are defined below
Error code – 501, 514, 515, 533
All the above-mentioned errors are associated with the log file in different manners. These are some hindrances that can stop bringing the exchange database in a consistent form.
Now we have to forcefully bring the exchange database in a consistent form using the ESEUTIL command.
The command can be used like this: eseutil /p
But this process is also associated with some major potholes as it finds corrupt pages and broken links between the tables. These data need to be deleted to reform the structure of the database. After, you need to perform some more steps to rebuild the database using offline defragmentation and correct the database in the B-tree structure. So what are the other solutions to recover the exchange database without log files?
Alternative Solution to Recover Exchange Database Without Log Files
One can easily avoid these errors by using the professional Exchange Recovery Software. It facilitates to repair of corrupted or highly damaged EDB files and allows the recovery of the data in Outlook-compatible file format PST. Apart from Outlook PST, it also exports recovered data in multiple file formats such as EML, MSG, Live exchange server, and Office 365 as well. This is only the hope that any user can consider while recovering the exchange database without log files.
The Summation
The exchange log is the main element for any type of recovery in the exchange server. Without any log file, the recovery of the exchange server is somewhat difficult with the possibility of data loss. So, it is the prime responsibility of any exchange admin to save the log files securely. Which can prove a trump card during the recovery of data in a catastrophe. As an alternative, users can also trust the recovery solution to recover Exchange Database without log files.
Frequently Asked Question
Q 1: To recover an Exchange database, which command is used?
Ans: For Exchange database recovery and database difficulties, we must utilize eseutil. If this path is not added to the PATH variable in Windows, you may need to update the directory to this one in the command line or PowerShell terminal. where EXX is the log generation prefix, for example, E00, E01, E02, and so onQ 2: In exchange, how can I recoup database space?
Ans: You can reclaim White Space in an Exchange database by defragmenting it or by migrating mailboxes from one database to another and then deleting the old one.Q 3: What is the location of my Exchange mailbox database?
Ans: With no parameters, the Get-MailboxDatabase cmdlet collects information about all mailbox databases in the Exchange organization. When you use the Get-MailboxDatabase cmdlet with the Server option, it retrieves information about all mailbox databases on the specified server.