Event ID 459 may be logged after you perform a backup of an Exchange Server store in Exchange Server 2003 by using the NTBACKUP tool

When you use the NTBACKUP tool to perform a full backup for Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 mailbox stores or storage groups, you may set the specific target location to disk or other media. If the target location is not available for some reason, the backup stops as expected. However, when the target location resumes, and you try to start a full or incremental backup again, the backup fails. Additionally, the following event is logged in the Application log:

Event Type: Error
Event Source: ESE
Event Category: Logging/Recovery
Event ID: 459
Description: Information Store (xxxx) <storage group name>: The file <log path of the storage group>\Exx00000.log is missing and could not be backed- up.

When the backup fails, the incorrect log generation information is written to the database header. The incorrect generation information is visible if you dump the database header by using the eseutil /mh command.

When this issue occurs, an incorrect Log Gen field (0xffffffff) for one or more stores resembles the following:

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing the problem described in this article. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

This hotfix requires Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 to be installed on the server because of file dependencies.
For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart the computer after you apply this hotfix. However, the following services are restarted automatically when you apply this hotfix:

• Microsoft Exchange System Attendant
• The Internet Information Services (IIS) Admin Service and all dependent services

Note After you install the hotfix, you have to restart the Exchange Installable File System (ExIFS) service. Because the ExIFS runs as a hidden service, it is not visible in the Services console within the Administrative Tools program menu. However, you can still issue a net stop or a net start command to start or stop the ExIFS service. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace a previously released hotfix.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

To work around this issue, you may reset the log for the affected storage group. For more information about how to do this, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: