Restoring an Exchange Server Database to a consistent state of working can be very challenging and time consuming. In Exchange Server 2003, its been made easier compared to older versions of Exchange Servers. But even then, it might still not be easy task if you don’t know your way around all the methods and different procedures.
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Now, you can use Exchange Server Disaster Recovery Analyzer (ExDRA) tool which comes handy in this situation. The ExDRA tool can analyze the database that you are attempting to mount and it will provide you step by step list of instructions to bring the database into a consistent state so that it can be mounted.
ExDRA tool can be downloaded free of cost from Microsoft website. Installation procedure is quite simple and once you complete the setup, open the program from start menu like any other program installed in system.
- Open the program ExDRA and check for updates and once you made sure its up to date, you will be greeted with a welcome screen.
- The welcome screen just informs you that it can be used with any Exchange Server 2000 with service pack 3 or higher or 2003 server
- Select Next and you can choose auto detect option and see if it can detect the database location. But depending on your server’s current state you may have to use the manual input mode as well.
- Once you choose the auto detect option, you will then find a prompt to enter your server’s name, a domain controller’s name, and a set of authentication credentials.
- After entering the required details, select Next and the ExDRA tool will validate the credentials that you have entered.
- Now, you will have to select the storage group which is having problems. Select the appropriate group and proceed with Next button.
- Next, ExDRA will display details of databases both mounted and not mounted. You must now select the proper database name that you are trying to recover and click the Analyze Selected Database link to start process.
Time needed for analysis process will vary depending on the database’s size and condition. Once the process completes, you will be presented a report that tells you about your database’s current condition and what you need to do to fix the problem. The report will also contain links to pertinent Microsoft Knowledgebase articles that you can use for extra help.