Resolve Issues of Exchange EDB Dirty Shutdown State
Exchange Server enables centralized storage of data in MS Outlook mail client and is required for maintaining efficient and continuous private communication in business organizations, based on email. The Exchange Information Store saves the complete Outlook data in Exchange Database (EDB) file that serves as a backup in case the user deletes the mailbox. However, it cannot be concluded that the Exchange EDB is immune to corruption. Due to several unprecedented circumstances, the EDB file just like other databases is prone to damage.
Microsoft Exchange Prompts Dirty Shutdown Error
When you try to access an Exchange EDB file, it may happen that the file refuses to open and an error message is prompt saying, “Database was not shut down cleanly (dirty shutdown)”. This suggests that your Exchange database file (EDB or STM) is not detached from the transitional log properly.
When the Exchange Information Store service terminates, the database may go into a dirty shutdown state. Majority of times, it’s the transaction logs that cause inconsistency in transactions. Also, if the server does not correctly read the transaction logs, it may lead to transactional inconsistency. Hence, when you try accessing the EDB file in such a case, it will prompt the dirty shutdown error.
Troubleshoot Exchange Dirty Shutdown Error Manually
The first step is to bring the database to a clean shutdown state. This can be achieved if the required transactional log files are replayed into the Exchange database. In order to achieve a clean shutdown, the following steps need to be followed:
- Backup all the Exchange database files (inclusive of public, private, STM and log files) to a different destination on the system hard disk and also ensure enough free space for the repair.
- Now, run the inbuilt Exchange repair tool, Eseutil in order to perform the consistency check on the database by running the following command:
eseutil/MH “C:\ program files\ exchsrvr\ mdbdata\ priv1.edb”
- If the database is found to be in the dirty shutdown state, you can perform soft repair by replacing the log files of corrupt Exchange database by running the given command: eseutil/r “C:\ program files\ exchsrvr\ mdbdata\ priv1.edb”. This command will replay the transaction log files to ensure that all the Exchange database operations are completed successfully.
- Now, again check the database for consistency. If the database seems to be in inconsistent state, perform the hard repair of the database with the following command: eseutil/p “C:\ program files\ exchsrvr\ mdbdata\ priv1.edb”.
- Now, run the command line utility “Eseutil/d” to defrag the Exchange database store.
- Next, check the integrity of the Exchange database by using the utility “Isinteg” from BIN folder by running the following command: “Isinteg –s server name –fix –test alltests”