Exchange Server 2010 SP1 Rollup 1

After running the automated update to Exchange 2010 SP1 Rollup 1, our exchange server stopped being able to mount the data store for the data databases.

The error we received looked like this:

Event 9512 MSExchange IS While starting database Mailbox Database 123456789, the following error occurred: Non-database file or corrupted database. 
Failed to configure MDB.

The Event ID was followed by 3154 then 209 then 2131.

Kind of bummed me out that yet again, an automated update would kill the Exchange server. But I this is something I am getting more and more used to with Microsoft and their updates.

To fix this issue we tried to follow the article here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925825

As this was suggested in some forums we found about the issue.

Method 1 was what we selected.

Method 1: Run Setup /PrepareAD

Run the Setup /PrepareAD command from the Exchange Server CD to prepare the Active Directory directory service for Exchange Server 2010 or Exchange Server 2007. This command restores the Exchange Servere configuration in Active Directory. For more information about how to prepare Active Directory, see the "How to Prepare Active Directory and Domains" topic in Exchange Server Help. To view this Help topic, follow these steps for the appropriate program.
Exchange Server 2010

1. Start Exchange Server 2010 Help.
2. Click the Contents tab, expand Deployment, expand New Installation, expandPreparing to Deploy Exchange 2010, and then click How to Prepare Active Directory and Domains.

However as you would expect with Microsoft, the information in the article is not accurate for the post SP1 release, let alone the Rollup 1 to SP1.

We tried running from the CD and found the error: "configuration version 13214 is higher than setup’s version 12640 therefore, Prepare AD can’t be executed.

We worked out that this is because there is a new version of “setup” that comes with the SP1 download. We had hoped that this would have been updated into the Exchange server V14 / Bin directory. But it appears not.

So next we had to download the SP full release version from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=50b32685-4356-49cc-8b37-d9c9d4ea3f5b&displaylang=en

and extract the file (by clicking it) to a directory that would then allow us to run the “setup /prepareAD” from that location.

We did this, and got a message that looked like this:

We then restarted the service “Microsoft Exchange Information Store”

Found exactly the same errors:

so next we restarted the server.

Nothing. What we then discovered was that the file size of the .edb database associated with this mail data store database was 0 byte in size.

Crap!

We tried without success to use database recovery tools, but it was obvious from the size of the transaction log files that the data was actually gone forever.

 

That only leaves us with 2 options.

1. Restore from backup (disaster style)

2. Backup outlook Profiles to .pst, then one by one recover to a new creation of the database name.

Either way, this experience was totally crap (typical Microosft). All we did was allow an automatic update from Microsoft to run on the server. It was the Rollup 1 for SP1 exchange server 2010.

My advice. Buy a Mac, and get yourself some iMail accounts! Who needs this crap!

Microsoft – You totally suck!