XADM: Third-Party Online Backup Software May Not Restore Log Files

When you attempt to start the Microsoft Exchange Directory Service or the Information Store Service after a database is restored, the service may not start.

You may receive one of the following error messages, or a similar error message, which indicates that log files are missing: If you check the database in question by running the following command the database appears to be in an inconsistent state, which indicates that to start the database, log files must be played into it. In addition, the Restore In Progress Key may be missing from the registry after the restore.

This behavior can occur because certain backup software packages allow you to restore log files from an online backup. When each service starts, it is directed to the transaction log files so that it can replay any missing transactions. These log files default to the Dsadata folder in the Directory Service or the Mdbdata folder in the Information Store Service.

To resolve this issue, restore log files in the backup software when you restore from an online backup.

To work around this issue, restore the entire database again. You can also restore only the missing log files by using the Exchange Server-aware portion of the backup software.

Log files may not be successfully replayed during restoration if circular logging is enabled for the server that is being restored.

For additional information about circular logging and online backups, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: