Recovering Exchange Server Database when Log File is badly Corrupted

Exchange transaction log files are like record-keepers that jot down all activity that takes place on the server in real-time. Since an Exchange server typically has thousands of mailboxes residing on it, there is a lot happening on it each minute of the day; as a result, lots of entries are made into the log files each second. Such huge amount of information written into these files so frequently causes them to bloat up to massive sizes. And when that happens, transaction log files become prone to problems like corruption and damage.

Log files are essential to the Exchange server and are often needed to replay or rollback the server into a consistent state if it goes out of service. Hence, it is important to save them through backups. However, if an administrator forgets the backup step, he could land into trouble if one or many of such files get damaged since that could paralyze the whole server. So how can one recover Exchange server if such a situation arises?

Common practices used to recover Exchange database with Corrupted Log files

Many organizations follow the practice of email vaulting to bypass the problems of the Exchange file system as much as possible. In this process, PST, EDB and STM and log files related to the Exchange server are stored in a comprehensive manner such that they can be better controlled thus minimizing the server downtime. However, this technique fails if log files are corrupted badly.

In such a case, the most common way to manually recover from the problem is through a three step approach that includes copying the log files to “<LogFileName>.old”, deleting the log files and then rebooting the server. This way the log files are recreated and mounting problems associated with corrupt log files are avoided. However, even if an organization resorts to this method, it will still face the issue of inaccessibility of data stuck within the corrupted ‘.old’ log file that has no way of being recovered.

In this scenario when conventional methods fail to recover Exchange server, opting for automated tools that are log file independent and perform Exchange database recovery becomes ideal.

What to do if the Exchange log file is corrupt

The task to recover Exchange server with the corrupted log file is difficult if you don’t have a backup. That’s because there’s no in-built mechanism to remove corruption or errors from log files. EDB Recovery products come in handy in these situations. Such software excel in the task of extracting all data from damaged EDB files and save them as new, workable PST files. It is in this Exchange server recovery software where the secret to recover Exchange server when log file is corrupt lies.

A brilliant utility called Stellar Exchange database recovery tool  efficiently helps to recover Exchange mailbox database when log file is corrupt. This application assists you in safely reclaiming all mailbox contents including emails, attachments, contacts, calendars, tasks, etc. from corrupt EDB files into a new, usable MS Outlook PST File. If you have this software at hand, you can be sure that no matter how the log files or nay other EDB files get corrupted, you’ll never end up losing your data. You may try the demo version of the software from here:

If you’re facing Exchange server disruption due to corrupted log files, you should use Stellar Repair for Exchange to steer out of your troubles. If not, keep it handy since you never know when you may need it.