XADM: How to Move Exchange Databases and Logs in Exchange 2000 Server

Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server does not come with the Performance Optimizer program (Perfwiz.exe) that is included with previous versions of Exchange Server. Therefore, this article explains how to move log files or database files in Exchange 2000.

If you want to move log files or database files to another drive, use the following procedures.

To Move Log Files

1. Start Exchange System Manager.
2. Locate the Administrative Group.
3. Open the properties on the Storage Group for which you want to change log file paths.
4. On the General tab, change the Transaction Log Location by clicking Browse, and then specifying a new drive or directory location for the log files.

To Move Databases

1. Start Exchange System Manager.
2. Locate the Administrative Group.
3. Under the Storage Group, click the Mailbox or Public Folder Store that you want to change.
4. Open the properties on that store, and click the Database tab.
5. Choose a new location for the databases by clicking Browse, and specifying a new drive or directory location for the database files. With the databases, you can choose to move the Exchange Database (.edb file), Exchange Streaming Database (.stm file) or both.
   
   If the databases are still mounted, you receive the following message:
   You are about to perform the following operation(s):
   
   -change Exchange database location
   
   To perform the requested operation(s), the store must be temporarily dismounted which will make it inaccessible to any user.
   
   Do you want to continue?
   Click Yes to dismount the database automatically and move the location.
6. When you finish moving the databases, remount the databases manually.

You can move the log files and database files to any directory that you want to create. When you move logs and database files, you may want to create the Exchsrvr\Mdbdata file structure for consistency reasons, but you are not required to do so.

You must grant the following default permissions to the new Mdbdata directory that contains the log files and database files:

• Administrators: Full Control
• Authenticated Users: Read and Execute, List Folder Contents, Read
• Creator Owner: None
• Server Operators: Modify, Read and Execute, List Folder Contents, Read, Write
• System: Full Control

You may also need to grant the following permissions to the root drive that contains the new Mdbdata directory:

• System: Full Control

During the process of moving log files and database files, your store is temporarily dismounted, which makes it inaccessible to your users until the process is completed.

Moving log files or database files invalidates all existing incremental and differential backups, so it is recommended that you make a full backup after these changes.

If you receive this error when you are trying to move databases, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:Note If the old location of the database files is changed or removed on the hard disk, you may experience the symptoms that are mentioned in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article: