Exchange Dirty Shutdown Error in Exchange Server
Exchange Dirty Shutdown Error in Exchange Server
When Exchange Server returns an error message, do you know what to do?
Anti-Virus Deleted or Quarantined a Transaction Log
By far the most common failure over the years has been the transaction log was quarantined by Norton, AVG or Panda. Lately this problem hasn't been so apparent since there is so much good information about Exchange and anti-virus, but looking at the last 3 years this is by far the most predominant failure. The fact is you shouldn't let any program have the ability to modify any component of Microsoft Exchange Server.
Information Store Has Reached The 16 GB Limit
Another historically rampant problem that has smoothed over recently is the priv or priv1 edb file size limitation. The Internet has also helped by educating admins about the 16 GB limit. Many didn't know that the file size incorporated both the priv1 edb AND the priv1 stm file in its limitations. Once the size gets hit, the Information Stores can't be mounted. There are plenty of websites (including our Exchange Forum) that posted the 1 GB temporary fix to the problem. This and Microsoft increasing the size to 72 GB has made this scenario less prevalent than say a year ago.
And now for the worst problem of them all...
Exchange Server Has Had A Dirty Shutdown
The big problem of them all, a dirty shutdown is a very bad situation. A dirty shutdown happens whenever the Information Stores have not been closed in the normal manner. During the winter this is usually due to power surges or outages.
It is critical that your servers have UPS systems, battery backups, whatever you can do to help shut the Information Stores down properly during a power crises. If your server has had a dirty shutdown, exchange data recovery will be in your future if you don't have a solid Exchange disaster recovery plan in place. A dirty shutdown is a disaster by definition. It often leads to jet engine errors, duplicate or illegal keys or worse. Keep your files backed up, and just as important: test your backups and recovery plan often!
So what is exchange "Dirty Shutdown"?
Most people usually think of dirty shutdown as the indication of damaged database. But that's not the case at all. It's just that Exchange database has not been shut normally and therefore it becomes our area of concern as it leads to corruptions in Exchange database .EDB and .STM files.
A Dirty Shutdown state does not indicate the database is corrupted or damaged. A Dirty Shutdown state indicates only that the database files were not detached from the log stream correctly. Therefore, before you can start the database again, you must first recover the database files.
The next time that the database is mounted, this recovery is run automatically. If automatic recovery fails, you can use the Microsoft Exchange Server Disaster Recovery Analyzer Tool to analyze the reasons for failure. After analysis, the Exchange Server Disaster Recovery Analyzer will provide recommendations for manually recovering the database files.
So how to check for Dirty Shutdown?
Login to you Exchange Server that you want to run the check and follow these steps.
Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type CMD, and then click OK.
Switch to the C:Program FilesExchSrvrBin folder, type one of the following commands (as appropriate to your situation), and then press ENTER.
Type in eseutil /mh
So what to do next if you receive a dirty shutdown?
As Exchange Administrator it would be bad day if you have exchange database in Dirty Shutdown State and you don't have required log files to perform soft recovery.
Below are the some of the situation where you wanted to go for new Hardware
Your hardware has failed
You are performing a dial-tone recovery, where Active Directory is intact
You are performing a site recovery, where Active Directory is intact
When migrating a Client Access server, Hub Transport server, Unified Messaging server, or Mailbox server to new hardware
Steps to approach recovery of Exchange 2007 Mailbox Server
Search for the Crashed mailbox server from the active directory users and computer and right click on the same and click on Reset
Install same windows version on the new box with same service pack and hot fixes with same name of the Crashed Exchange 2007 mailbox server with the same IP address of the old machine. If IP address is changed then you may need to updated DNS
Allocate the storage on the new server which matches the older server
Install Exchange 2007 using command "Setup /M:RecoveryServer
Install all the hotfix and rollup updates
Create all the Required Storage groups and stores in the same naming standard
Restore all the Database stores with options "This Database can be over written by restore"
Mount the databases
You can create the new public store and check if the replication is configured properly and allow public folders to get replicated from other public folder stores
Then you may rebuild full text Index catalog. Index catalog helps to search for the documents and attachments in the messages. Index Catalog is for each Storage group
Document helps to rebuild Search Index
In most cases, when a dirty shutdown happen, the MS Exchange itself have a component that will try to soft-recover itself back to a clean-state. You know, when a Mailbox Store is not mounted or couldn't mounted, it most probably dirty shutdown.
If you don't have the required log files then you have to follow below steps to recover the database
Run ESEUTIL /P database_filename.edb (from the BIN folder and repair the edb files)
Delete the log and chk files.
Run eseutil /d database_filename.edb (Defrag the Database)
Run isinteg (isinteg -s servername -fix -test alltests) from the bin folder.
Mount the stores
Eseutil and Isinteg would be really long time , depending on the size of the database. Microsoft always recommends to keep the database size less than 100 GB. If you are using CCR environment then it can grow more than 100 GB as you will be multiple copies of the log files for recovery purpose.
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