Fixed Error: Microsoft Exchange Server Database Storage Engine Utilities has stopped working

Summary: The error “Microsoft Exchange Server Database Storage Engine Utilities has stopped working” occurs due to corrupt or damaged Exchange database (EDB). The error appears when ESEUTIL tool stops unexpectedly and fails to fix the database due to some problem with the database. In this blog post, we have discussed various solutions to fix the error and restore the contents from corrupt or inaccessible database.

The error Microsoft Exchange Server Database Storage Engine Utilities has stopped working is a result of a corrupt database, most likely due to the dirty shutdown.

Exchange server is designed on JET engines, where log files play a significant role in maintaining the consistency of EDB files. So, when the information in transaction log files is inconsistent with the data in EDB files at the time of shutdown, it results in a dirty shutdown state.

As a result, the server fails to read the transactional logs. And this discrepancy between database and transaction log file leads to database corruption.

This can be fixed with a tool called ESEUTIL. It is a command-line based tool that helps Exchange admins to perform various operations on the database (EDB) files such as,

• Repair database
• Check database integrity
• Perform checksum test
• Offline defragmentation

The ESEUTIL tool helps restore contents of a corrupt EDB file. If the level of corruption is minimal, you can use the tool to recover contents from the database through soft or hard recovery.

Hard recovery is ideal for highly corrupted database files, and the command used for this operation is eseutil/p.  However, hard recovery can lead to data loss as it removes the unrecoverable items and mailboxes from the database during recovery. This can be avoided by using an Exchange recovery software, such as Stellar Repair for Exchange. The software helps repair corrupt database, recovers lost or deleted mailboxes and saves the mailboxes to PST or exports directly to a live Exchange server.

Moreover, ESEUTIL may not always work. This tool is not designed to handle severe corruptions in EDB files. Thus, when an admin tries to fix severely corrupt or damaged Exchange database with ESEUTIL or changes the dirty shutdown state to a clean shutdown state and re-mount the database, the following error may appear,

In simple words, the error indicates that ESEUTIL may not be able to repair the database file because it is severely corrupted. In such situations, go for a reliable third-party Exchange Recovery tool like Stellar Repair for Exchange to repair the EDB file and safely retrieve its contents.

In some cases, the error may also appear,

• If the server doesn’t have enough free space as ESEUTIL requires a minimum of 20% of the total database size to execute.
• If the admin tries to roll up a database after running ESEUTIL command on a backed-up copy of EDB file.

How to Fix Microsoft Exchange Server Database Storage Engine Utilities Error?

Ideally, you can fix the Microsoft Exchange Server Database Storage Engine Utilities has stopped working error by restoring contents from a backup. You may also use a third-party Exchange Repair tool to fix corrupt or damaged Exchange database and restore mailboxes.

Backup is probably the easiest way to restore mailbox database and fix the error. It helps restore your inaccessible database and mailboxes quickly, and prevents unnecessary downtimes.

However, the backup may not be available or up-to-date, which means that there is a possibility to lose most recent data after backup restore. In such a case, you should avoid obsolete backup and use Stellar Repair for Exchange software to fix database corruption.

The software helps you restore and recover the corrupt mailbox database with minimal downtime and fix Microsoft Exchange Server Database Storage Engine Utilities has stopped working error.

Steps to Fix the MS Exchange Storage Engine Error

Here are the steps that you can follow to fix the Microsoft Exchange Server Database Storage Engine Utilities has stopped working – ESEUTIL error,

Step 1: Check Available Storage on the Server

It is suggested that the server should have free storage space while executing ESEUTIL commands, at least 20% of the size of database file which is being repaired.

Check and increase the available space on your disk and then run ESEUTIL again. This may fix the error.

Step 2: Create a Copy of EDB File

Manually create a copy of the problematic database file and then run ESEUTIL commands on this copy and check if this fixes the error.

Step 3: Move the Logs of Database

Move the logs of damaged database from their current path to a temporary folder. After this, attempt to re-mount the database. This should fix the error in most cases.

Alternatively, you may also look through the system log files and see if you can identify the cause of the error. Sometimes, the error could be caused by problems in the motherboard or disk controller. If you know the problem, try fixing it.

Didn’t Fix?

You will have to try different options and combinations to see if any of it would fix the error. If it doesn’t, unfortunately, there is no other sure-shot way of fixing this error without a third-party tool.

Why Use Stellar Repair for Exchange to Fix the Error?

Stellar Repair for Exchange is a popular Exchange recovery tool used for repairing corrupt EDB files and to restore the Exchange database safely. This tool can fix databases of any size and any corruption level, including the ones which are severely corrupted. Regardless of the reason for corruption, this tool can fix it for you.

Another useful aspect of this tool is its user graphical user interface that is simple to use and hides all the complexity of Exchange database repair and restore process. Users with all levels of technical knowledge or expertise can use this tool with ease. Watch the following video guide to learn more about the software and how it works.

Video Tutorial of Stellar Repair for Exchange 

Conclusion

Since ESEUTIL does not have the capabilities to fix severely corrupted databases due to its limitations and a lot of pre-requisites, there is a high chance for this operation to fail. As a result, “Microsoft Exchange Server Database Storage Engine Utilities has stopped working” error occurs when you run eseutil /p command to fix a corrupt database. In such a case, the best option is to use third-party software like Stellar Repair for Exchange tool to fix and restore your corrupt database and get rid of the errors associated with it.