Microsoft Exchange Server is a well-known application that is used to create collaborative messaging environment. It is installed on server and can be accessed from client computer using Microsoft Outlook. Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2000 use MS IIS (Microsoft Internet Information Services) to provide Exchange-related services. All configuration settings of the IIS are stored in IIS metabase. The formation of metabase contains various settings of properties of different nodes. However, in some situations the metabase may get damaged and cause critical EDB (Exchange Database) corruption scenarios. To sort out this problem, you need to opt for Exchange Server Recovery, in case of unavailability of backup.

Corruption of IIS metabase and Exchange Server database is a very serious concern. It can cause several Exchange Server vulnerabilities and make Exchange-related services unusable. In case of metabase corruption, you may encounter the below error message:

"[15:52:34] - The Internet Information Server metabase appears to be corrupt. Please uninstall and reinstall Internet Information Server. -- ID:62145 --

[15:52:34] Prerequisites for Microsoft Exchange Messaging and Collaboration Services failed: The component 'Microsoft Exchange Messaging and Collaboration Services' cannot be assigned the action 'Upgrade' because:- The Internet

Information Server metabase appears to be corrupt. Please uninstall and reinstall Internet Information Server."

The above error, in particular, occurs due to missing metabase entries. If various users perform transactions after metabase corruption, the EDB file may encounter several inconsistency issues. In such situations, to bring your Exchange Server in working state, you need to fix this behavior using Microsoft Exchange Recovery Tool.

Resolution

You can use Adsutil.vbs, an inbuilt utility of Microsoft Exchange Server, to locate metabase objects. However, if you encounter the following error while using Adsutil.vbs tool, you have to reinstall Internet Information Service and Microsoft Exchange Server:

"-2147221020 (0x800401e4)

Error trying to enum the object (GetObject failed)"

Although, reinstalling the Exchange Server and IIS may fix this problem, but it can not repair the corrupted Exchange Server database. In order to repair and restore the damaged EDB file, you need to use third-party Exchange Recovery Software.

The applications are particularly designed to carry out systematic scan of entire EDB file (using advanced scanning mechanisms) and to extract all damaged and inaccessible objects. They enable you to perform Exchange Recovery on your own, as they have simple and self-descriptive graphical user interface.

Exchange Mailbox Recovery software repairs damaged EDB file and restores all user mailboxes as individual PST files. The Exchange Database Recovery software works well with Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, 2003, 2000, and 5.5. It restores all EDB file objects, such as emails, notes, contacts, tasks, journals, appointments, and attachments.