XADM: STM Database Files Are Inconsistent After You Run the Eseutil /p Command

After you use the Eseutil.exe utility with the /p switch to try to repair the Exchange 2000 Server Public and Private information store databases, the Information Store service may not start. If you look at the consistency of the .edb database files, their state shows that they have been cleanly shut down. However, if you look at the consistency of the .stm database files, their state is shown to be inconsistent.

To resolve this issue:

1. Defragment the public and private databases:
   1. Click Start, and then click Run.
   2. In the Open box, type cmd, and then press ENTER.
   3. Type drive:\program files\exchsrvr\bin eseutil /d drive:\program files\exchsrvr\mdbdata\priv1.edb, and then press ENTER, where drive is the drive on which Exchange is installed.
   4. Repeat the command in step 1c on the public database file.
2. Check the state of both the .edb and .stm database files to make sure that their appears as a clean shutdown. For information about how to check consistency by using Eseutil.exe, see the "More Information" section of this article.
3. Make sure that there is no logical damage of the information stores:
   1. Click Start, and then click Run.
   2. In the Open box, type cmd, and then press ENTER.
   3. Type drive:\program files\exchsrvr\bin\isinteg -s servername -fix -test alltests, and then press ENTER, where drive is the drive on which Exchange is installed, and servername is your Exchange server name.
      
      NOTE: The Isinteg.exe tool finds and removes logical damage at the IS level. The Eseutil.exe tool checks, diagnoses, and repairs at the database level.

How to Use Eseutil.exe to Check Database Consistency

To check the consistency (state) of the databases:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type cmd, and then press ENTER.
3. Type drive:\program files\exchsrvr\bin eseutil /mh drive:\program files\exchsrvr\mdbdata\priv1.edb, and then press ENTER, where drive is the drive on which Exchange is installed.
4. Note the message that the command generates. If a database is consistent, the command generates a "state = clean shutdown" message. This indicates that all the log files have been committed to the information store. If the command generates a "state = dirty shutdown" message, the database is not consistent, and the log files might not yet have been committed to the database. Repeat these steps for the private and public database files and for their accompanying .stm files.

For additional information about the Isinteg.exe tool, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For additional information about the Eseutil utility, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: