Q155509: XADM: Restore Exchange When Site or Organization Name Is Unknown
Article: Q155509
Product(s): Microsoft Exchange
Version(s): 4.0,5.0,5.5
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): kbusage exc4 exc5 exc55
Last Modified: 06-AUG-2002
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Exchange Server, versions 4.0, 5.0, 5.5
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SUMMARY
=======
Sometimes it is necessary to reinstall Microsoft Exchange Server and then
restore the Exchange Server data from backup. This restore process requires that
the computer running Exchange Server be installed with the original organization
and site names.
If the server that stopped responding was the only server in the site, the
administrator needs the organization and site names. Without these names, it is
not possible to recover the Exchange Server data from backup.
This article explains how to determine the organization and site names and
restore Exchange Server.
MORE INFORMATION
================
Four procedures are listed below. There are two procedures for determining the
organization and site names; the one you use depends on whether the Exchange
registry keys are available. This article also explains how to restore a
computer running Exchange Server after you have determined the organization and
site names. This can be done from either an online or an offline backup.
If Exchange Registry Keys Are Available
---------------------------------------
If the Exchange registry keys in the Microsoft Windows NT registry are available,
the organization and site names can be determined from the "X500 DN" registry
value under the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\
MSExchangeMTA\Parameters
This value has the following string:
/o=<org name>/ou=<site
name>/cn=Configuration/cn=Servers/cn=<server name>/cn=Microsoft MTA
Where <org name> and <site name> are the organization and site
names.
After you have determined the organization and site names, follow the steps below
to restore Exchange Server data from an offline or online backup.
If Exchange Registry Keys Are Not Available
-------------------------------------------
If the Exchange registry keys referenced above are not available, and backups of
the Priv.edb and Pub.edb files (offline backup) are available, determine the
organization and site names as follows:
1. Install Exchange Server using NewOrg as the organization name and NewSite as
the site name.
2. Stop the Exchange Server services.
3. Delete all the files in the Mdbdata subdirectory.
4. From the Mdbdata directory of the offline Exchange Server backup, copy the
files Priv.edb and Pub.edb into the Exchsrvr\Mdbdata subdirectory of the new
installation.
5. Start the directory service.
6. From a command prompt, go to the Exchsrvr\Bin directory.
7. Run "Isinteg -patch" (without the quotation marks).
8. Start the information store service.
9. The information store service stops responding with an error 1276. In the
application event log in Windows NT Event Viewer, the following error message
is logged:
Event ID: 1088
Source: MSExchangeIS
Type: Error
Category: General
Description:
The information store could not be loaded because the distinguished name (DN)
of the message database
/O=OldOrg /OU=OldSite /CN=RECIPIENTS /CN=
does not match the DN of the directory
/O=NewOrg /OU=NewSite /CN=RECIPIENTS /CN=
The database may have been restored to a computer that is an organization or
site different than the original database.
OldOrg and OldSite are the original organization and site names and NewOrg and
NewSite are the new names entered when Exchange Server was reinstalled in
step 2.
10. Note the original organization and site names.
11. Run the Server Setup program and remove the existing installation.
After you have determined the organization and site names, follow the steps below
to restore Exchange Server from an offline or online backup.
Restoring from an Offline Backup
--------------------------------
After you have determined the organization and site names, follow these steps to
restore the Exchange Server system.
These steps assume that an offline backup of the entire Exchsrvr directory is
available.
1. Run Exchange Server Setup to install Exchange Server using the original site
and organization names.
2. Stop all the Exchange Server services.
3. In the Dsadata subdirectory of the Exchsrvr directory, copy Dir.edb to
Dir.sav.
4. Proceed to step a if the machine name of the computer running Exchange Server
has not been changed and if the Windows NT domain accounts have not been
re-created after the server stopped responding. Proceed to step b if the
server name has changed or the Windows NT domain accounts information had to
be re-created.
a. Restore the entire Exchsrvr directory from the offline backup.
-or-
b. Delete all files from the Exchsrvr\Mdbdata subdirectory. Copy the files
Priv.edb and Pub.edb from the Mdbdata of the offline backup to the
Exchsrvr\Mdbdata subdirectory.
5. Start the directory service.
6. From a command prompt, go to the Exchsrvr\Bin directory.
7. Run "Isinteg -patch" (without the quotation marks).
8. Start the information store.
9. Start the Exchange Server Administrator program.
10. On the Advanced tab of the Server object properties, start the DS/IS
Consistency Checker.
11. Redefine any connectors. Re-create all custom recipients and distribution
lists. If, in step 4, only the Priv.edb and Pub.edb were restored, reassign
the primary Windows NT account associated with each mailbox.
Restoring from an Online Backup
-------------------------------
After you have determined the organization and site names, follow these steps to
restore the Exchange Server system. These steps assume that an online backup of
the entire Exchsrvr directory is available.
1. Run Exchange Server Setup to install Exchange Server using the original site
and organization names.
2. Stop all the Exchange Server services.
3. In the Dsadata subdirectory of the Exchsrvr directory, copy Dir.edb to
Dir.sav.
4. If the machine name of the computer running Exchange Server has not been
changed and if the Windows NT domain accounts have not been re-created after
the server stopped responding, proceed to step a. If the server name has
changed or the Windows NT domain accounts information had to be re-created,
proceed to step b.
a. Restore the directory and the information store from the online backup.
-or-
b. Restore only the information store from the online backup.
When you restore, do select the option to restart the services.
5. Start the Exchange Server Administrator program.
6. Run the DS/IS Consistency Checker (Advanced page of the Server object
properties).
7. Redefine any connectors. Re-create all custom recipients and distribution
lists. If, in step 4, only the information store was restored, the primary
Windows NT account associated with each mailbox must be reassigned.
Additional query words: incorrect wrong naming context
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Keywords : kbusage exc4 exc5 exc55
Technology : kbExchangeSearch kbExchange500 kbExchange550 kbExchange400 kbZNotKeyword2
Version : :4.0,5.0,5.5
Issue type : kbhowto
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