XADM: Cannot Perform Online Backup After Repairing Database

• Microsoft Exchange Server, version 5.5

SYMPTOMS

After you use the Eseutil.exe program with the /P switch to repair a Microsoft Exchange Server database, you may be unable to perform an online backup of the database until you defragment it.

CAUSE

When you use the Eseutil.exe program to repair an Exchange Server database, a -1018 error (JET_errReadVerifyFailure) may be returned when a checksum test is performed on a page in the database. When this occurs, Eseutil.exe corrects the problem by preventing the page from being used, but it does not reset or delete the page. Because the online backup program reads every page in the database, the invalid page is still read when an online backup is performed.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use Eseutil.exe with the /D switch to defragment the database. This removes the invalid pages from the database, allowing an online backup of the database to be performed.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5. This problem has been corrected in the latest U.S. service pack for Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5. For information on obtaining the service pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

S E R V P A C K

MORE INFORMATION

When you use Eseutil.exe to defragment a database, all the data in the database is copied to a new file. During this process, Eseutil.exe does not read pages that are not being used. Therefore, all unused pages are removed from the database, including any invalid pages that Eseutil.exe previously encountered while it was repairing the database.

The online backup program is the only program that reads unused pages. The pages are not read when the database is online or when an offline repair or defragmentation is performed. In addition, because the pages are unused, no data is affected by the fact that the pages are invalid.

When you use the Eseutil.exe program to repair an Exchange Server database after you apply the fix, Eseutil.exe resets any invalid pages that it finds. This allows an online backup to be performed before the database is defragmented.

Keywords : XADM
Version : WINDOWS:5.5
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbbug