XADM: How to Defrag an EDB File on a Non-Exchange Server

In certain cases it may be necessary to defragment a Microsoft Exchange Server database file offline. If there is not enough disk space on the server running Microsoft Exchange Server to do this, but there is enough disk space on another Windows NT Server that does not have Microsoft Exchange Server running on it, you can perform the defragmentation without having to install Microsoft Exchange Server. This article will explain how to do this.

To perform a defrag on a Windows NT Server that does not have Microsoft Exchange Server running on it, follow these steps:

1. Verify that there is enough hard disk space on the server where you want to perform the defrag. There must be at least twice the amount of free hard disk space as the the size of the database file. If the database file is 10G, there must be at least 20G of free hard disk space.
2. Create a blank directory on the non-Exchange server and copy the following files to that directory:

         Edb.dll                       - located in the exchsrvr\bin
                                         directory
         Edbutil.exe                   - also in the exchsrvr\bin directory
         Priv.edb, Pub.edb, or Dir.edb - the database file needing
                                         defragmentation
   						

3. From the new directory on the non-Exchange server, run the following command:

         EDBUTIL /D <path to the database file>
   						

   For example, if the directory where these files are located is C:\Defrag, and you want to defrag the Priv.edb, use the following command:

         EDBUTIL /D C:\DEFRAG\PRIV.EDB