If you are running an organization, you would be familiar with Microsoft Exchange server. It is useful in managing your contacts, emails, files, and other important records in your mailbox. The Exchange server leverages these Exchange database (EDB) log files as a central repository to store the mailbox items. Before anyone accesses the log files, it is imperative to mount Exchange database on the server.
In several cases, the transactions do not commit successfully to the database or the log files go missing. These obstacles result in fail to mount error’, leaving the users with the below error message:
Failed to mount database “Mailbox Database 0366631746”. Error: An Active Manager operation failed. Error: The database action failed. Error: Operation failed with message: MapiExceptionDatabaseError: Unable to mount database. (hr=0x80004005, ec=1108)
Exchange database failure to mount: Major reasons
As we discussed already, the missing transaction log files is among the most common reasons behind this mounting failure. Notably, the missing data can lead to the inconsistency of the log files with database files.
A corrupted EDB file can be another major reason behind this error, which results in the inaccessibility of the user’s mailboxes. Here are the circumstances that corrupt the EDB file:
- Oversized EDB file can corrupt the file and cause issues in mounting the database
- Hard drive failure or Exchange server crash makes the EDB file corrupt
- Incorrect permission on the database files and logs stop Exchange Server to mount
- Malware attack or virus infection is another prominent reason behind turning EDB out of function
Other prominent reasons behind the fail to mount error in Exchange server may include:
- Dirty Shutdown message flashed by the EDB file while mounting
- Access of database file by another application or service, or a locked database
- Several applications conflicting with the services of Exchange server
Fixing the ‘Exchange Database Fails to Mount’ Error
In several instances, an Exchange database may dismount from the server because of power failure, sudden system shutdown, DB file running out of storage, or errors in storage media. In such cases, it is easy to mount the database back on the Exchange server with the help of
- Exchange Admin Center
- PowerShell commands in Exchange Management Shell (EMS)
Before proceeding, make sure to free the database storage or move the data to another volume.
Nevertheless, if you still fail to mount Exchange database and receive the error message “Unable to mount database”, you may try out several other options for Exchange recovery. At times, these methods may appear cumbersome, run the risk of data loss, and fail to deliver the intended result. To overcome these hassles, Stellar Repair for Exchange is reliable software. We will talk about it later.
For now, let’s discuss how to resolve ‘fail to mount error’ in Exchange server manually.
1. Backup Restoration
Using Recovery Database is a common method for Exchange server recovery. It will restore the database from the last known good condition backup. In the process, you will lose any change made to the server, such as new tasks, emails, modification to mailboxes or public folders, etc., from the time of backup creation till the Exchange database fails to mount. Moreover, you will need to have additional time, resources, and administration permissions to perform the backup.
2. Using EseUtil to repair the Exchange database
Here are the steps to resolve fail to mount error in the Exchange database server with the help of EseUtil, a native command line-based Exchange Database Repair tool.
- Backup your database including the transaction logs
- Run the Eseutil.exe from the directory of your Exchange server
- Check the state of your database in the Exchange Management Shell (EMS) or Command Prompt with administrator privileges. For this run the following command eseutil /mh “Path of your database”
- g. eseutil /mh C:\ExchangeDatabases\EDB01
- If the state displayed is Clean Shutdown, your database is free of error and you can proceed to mount it again.
- If the state shows Dirty Shutdown, it indicates that your database has become inconsistent or corrupt. For Exchange recovery, you will need to move your database to another drive.
- Navigate to Exchange Admin Center(EAC) > Servers > Databases
- Select the database. Click more option àMount
- If the mounting is successful, start the Exchange server, else proceed with soft recovery.
3. Correcting the ‘fail to mount error’ through soft recovery
Performing soft recovery can correct minor damages caused to your database or log files that did not commit successfully. Here is the command for this method of Exchange recovery:
eseutil /r E04 /l C:\ExchangeDatabases\logs /d C:\ExchangeDatabases\ EDB01
Here E04 is the log prefix, which refers to the missing file.
After executing the command, re-check the status of the database by using the same eseutil /MH parameter. If the Exchange database recovery is successful, the state will show clean shutdown. You can go on to mount Exchange database again. If the mount error still exists, hard recovery will be the next step.
4. Hard Recovery
If after carrying out soft recovery, the state still displays dirty shutdown, you can run eseutil /P parameter to perform hard recovery. It is the final way to fix the fail to mount error and ensure Exchange recovery.
If the EseUtil tool fails to recover the Exchange database, it could lead to loss of data. Therefore, it is advisable not to carry out this step.
Here are some more points to consider before performing hard recovery.
- The process will remain inaccessible to the users
- Once started, you cannot stop the Exchange recovery process
- You will have to run the database defragmentation process when performing hard recovery on Exchange Server 2013 or a later version,
All these methods can help you to recover your database and mount it in the Exchange server. But there is no guarantee for success. Moreover, using native tools accompanies several drawbacks:
- Exchange recovery through these manual methods is time-taking
- They use administrative effort
- You have to bear downtime till the database is in the recovery stage
- No guarantee for Exchange recovery
- Users cannot access the data during the restoration process
To get away with all these hassles Stellar Repair for Exchange is ideal software.
Why use Stellar Repair for Exchange?
This efficient software can fix the fail to mount error” in less time and with high-degree efficiency. The advanced Exchange recovery tool overpowers the challenges that you may encounter in the manual methods to mount Exchange database. It is instrumental in the recovery and repair of mailboxes from corrupt EDB files to PST files.
In addition, Stellar Repair for Exchange software also lets you transfer the recovered mailboxes to a new database in the live Exchange Server or Office 365. It performs parallel processing for quick file export between the damaged and the new database. This leads to reduced downtime, restores your mailboxes with due efficiency, and saves your time.
Therefore, it will be a wise decision to seek the help of Stellar Repair for Exchange tool if you are finding it hard to resolve ‘the fail to mount’ error in your Exchange database server.
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