XADM: You Receive Misleading Error Messages When You Run Eseutil

If you try to run a manual offline defragmentation against a streaming file, you may receive the following error message: If you run an integrity check against an .stm file, you may receive the following potentially misleading error message: IMPORTANT: Do not run Exchange 2000 database repair against the .stm file because database repair corrupts the internal structure of the .stm file, and you receive the following error message:

The Exchange 2000 database is made up of two databases, Priv*.edb and Priv*.stm. Exchange 2000 contains a utility named Eseutil.exe. You can use Eseutil.exe to perform many tasks on an Exchange 2000 database, such as repair, integrity checks, and defragmentation.

This problem occurs because the released version of Eseutil does not make sure that you are running Eseutil against the correct database file. The structure of the .stm file (streaming file) is different from the structure of the .edb file (Rich Text). Some of the functions of Eseutil actually damage the streaming file.

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server Service Pack 1.

These commands must always point to the Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) rich database file (.edb). The command is performed on both the .edb file and the corresponding the .stm file.

In Exchange 2000 Server Service Pack 1 (SP1), if you run database repair against an .stm file, you do not damage the .stm file. The Exchange 2000 SP1 version of Eseutil checks to make sure that the file is a MAPI rich .edb file before Eseutil starts a repair.