The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Exchange Server, version 4.0
SUMMARY
When a message becomes stuck in the Microsoft Exchange message transfer
agent (MTA) queue, it may be necessary to delete the message in order
to restore the operability of the MTA.
MORE INFORMATION
When a message becomes stuck in the MTA queue, the Windows NT Application
Event Log may display an event similar to the following:
2171/ExchangeMTA/Processing/An MTA database server error was encountered
while reading an attribute error code 2171 0x6
An MTA database server error was encountered while reading an attribute
called from XAPI Database error code 2171 object at fault 0600006b
To delete the message and restore the operability of the MTA:
- Stop the MTA:
In Control Panel Services, click Server Manager, then click Computer,
and then click Services.
-OR-
Carry out the following command at an MS-DOS prompt:
net stop msexchangemta
- Make a copy of the Mtadata directory. This will provide means for
restoring the directory in the event an incorrect file was removed.
Microsoft support engineers may request this directory if you call in
for further assistance.
- After stopping the MTA service, open a command prompt. In the
Exchsrvr\bin directory, carry out the command for MTACHECK. The minimum
command line should be:
mtacheck /v /f c:\mta.txt
The output file can be redirected to any drive with any file name.
Verify that the referenced .dat file in the event error exists in the
mtacheck log. If this is a .dat file in the MTA Work Queue, ensure that
it does correspond to that queue (0100002B).
- Note the "object at fault." This identifier points to a .dat file in
the "exchsrvr\mtadata" subdirectory. If the event log does not identify
the object at fault, it may be possible to identify the problem object
by correlating the time/date stamp of the message in the MTA queue with
that of a given .dat file. However, care must be exercised because there
may be many .dat files with the same time/date stamp. If there are
multiple files with the same time/date stamp, examination of the files
with a text editor may reveal the problem .dat file.
- Access the "bad" <*.dat> file, and then move or rename the file.
- Open the command prompt again and run the MTACHECK utility from an MS-
DOS prompt.
- Start the MTA.
- If the event errors still continue, or the MTA will not restart, call
Microsoft Technical Support for further assistance.
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