Table of content
1) Exchange server Definition
2) How does exchange server work?
3) Benefits of using exchange server
4) Different Versions of  Exchange Server
5) What is a EDB file?
6) What is PST File?
7) Why Convert EDB File to PST File?
8) Reasons for corruption of exchange EDB file
9) How to Prevent EDB File Corruption?
10) How to Recover Corrupted Exchange EDB File?
11) Convert edb file using EDB to PST Converter

Exchange Server Definition

Exchange server is a product developed by microsoft which is used for calendaring, email, contact management and scheduling. It helps in achieving better reliablity and improved performance.

It runs on windows operating system. Users can access microsoft exchange server through mobile devices,desktops and web-based sytems.

How does Exchange Server work?

Exchange Server Primarily focuses on sending,receiving and storing email messages.So it is important to create email accounts for each person who will be sending and receiving mail through exchange server.Each account must be configured individually with permission levels.

After setting up each user administrator of exchange server must set up filtering options.Exchange server offers blocking and filtering options to protect users from any spam,virus or unwanted mail.Mails from receipients can also be blocked in exchange server.Once the messages is accepted by exchange server it is routed to the designated user.

None of the mails can be send or received outside the organisation without the permission of administrator.

Exchange server provides high level of security and administrative access. For this reason only they are used by most of the organisation.Exchange server keeps one copy of exchange server in edb file format which can only be accessed by the admin of the exchange server.

Benefits of using exchange server

1. Security – It offers better security as compared to emails as there is option for filtering and blocking.So, confedential information doesn’t get leaked as all the mails get passed through the admin.
2. Mobility and portablity – Company employees can acess their exchange server anytime from anywhere in the world all they require is an internet connection and a computing device like mobile,laptop etc.
3. Address book – Email address book of all the employees get updated automatically which comes in handy during bulk messaging and sending of confedential data.

Different Versions of  Exchange Server

1. Exchange Server 4.0– Released in 1996.
2. Exchange Server 5.0– Released in 1997.
3. Exchange Server 5.5 – Released in 1998.
4. Exchange Server 2000 – Released in 2000.
5. Exchange Server 2003 – Released in 2003.
6. Exchange Server 2007 – Released in 2007.
7. Exchange Server 2010 – Released in 2010.
8. Exchange Server 2013 – Released in 2013.
9. Exchange Server 2016 – Released in 2016.
10. Exchange Server 2019 – Released in 2019.

What is a EDB file?

EDB stands for exchange information store database.Files that contains .EDB extension are commonly used by mailbox data files.It stores all data in mailbox such as emails,calendar,contacts,notes,tasks,etc.In exchange server 2000 & 2003 email messages are saved in edb file format.

Now two types of EDB files are created

a) priv.edb -Stores only private data of users mailbox.

b) pub.edb – stores all public or shared folders of users mailbox.

both priv.edb and pub.edb have a corresponding STM  file that contains SMTP messages.

.EDB file extension is also used by Adobe Photoshop. In photoshop .edb extension stands for extended digital books.

What is PST File?

PST stands for personal storage table. It is a microsoft outlook data file which store user’s data for IMAP or POP3. It includes data such as emails, calendar,events, contact, tasks etc. PST(personal storage table) files are used by every version of microsoft outlook.

Microsoft outlook automatically create a PST file and associate it with the created account.In earlier versions of outlook (2000 and 2002) pst files were stored in ANSI format with maximum size of 2gb while later versions save the pst file in unicode format and have maximum of 20gb(outlook 2003-2007) or 50gb(outlook 2010).

Why Convert EDB to PST File?

following are the reasons to convert a edb file to pst file.

1. To recover data from EDB file as the EDB file may get corrupted.
2. To reduce mailbox size.
3. To take backup of exchange server mailboxes.
4. To take backup of specific mailboxes or emails .
5. To port some mailboxes to another place.
6. To reduce chances of EDB file Corruption

Reasons for corruption of exchange EDB file

• Server Failure– Server failure can be caused due to hardware or software crash.
• Power Failure – Sudden power failure may lead to corruption of edb file.
• Virus Attack– EDB file may get corrupted due to virus attack and become unaccessible.
• Antivirus Programs– Antivirus programs may delete the log file which can lead to edb file corruption.
• Oversized Data file– If your data exceeds the maximum limit of storage then also edb file get corrupted.
• Dirty Shutdown– Accidental power shutdown or sytem failure can lead to edb file corruption
• Software Conflict– Third party conflict may also lead to edb file corruption.

How to Prevent EDB File Corruption?

No matter what exchange server version a user is using, no one wants to loose their important data and files due to  edb file corruption.To avoid such unexpected situtations one should take advance preventive measures to avoid such siutations.

following preventive measures can be taken to prevent edb file corruption:

1. Good quality h/w and s/f – Use of good quality of hardware and softwares can prevent unexpected system crash which in turn will prevent edb file corruption
2. Regular Backups– Taking bakups on regular intervals is as much important as anything else. So, Backup of exchange database on regular bases is good practice to avoid edb file corruption.
3. Configuration by Professional – Always get your exchange configured with the help of a professional as wrong configuration can also be the reason for edb file corruption
4. Storage limit– Different versions fo exchange have different storage limit. So one should keep storage limit in check for his version of exchange.
5. Use Good Antivirus – Use of good quality Antivirus software to prevent virus attacks.

How to Recover Corrupted Exchange EDB File?

Corrupted exchange edb file can be recovered by the following two modes of recovery:

1) Manual method

Recovering exchange edb file manually is only recommended when you have good knowledge regarding exchange server otherwise you may loose any data in the process.

Inbuilt commands are there which can be used to recover edb file manually. Following are the commands for recovering edb file manullay :

Eseutil and  Isinteg – Eseutil and Isinteg are inbuilt exchange utilities to repair inaccessible or corrupted exchange database files.Both these utilities can execute soft and hard recovery from offline  exchange server.
D:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\bin -location of exchange server file default location is C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\bin .

Before Executing these utilities following measures are necessary for precautions:

1. Log in as exchange administrator as these utilities can only be run by admin.
2. Create a backup of corrupted edb database file.
3. Dismount the complete EDB data from exchange server.
4. Free the disk space by moving the unncessary files.
5. Use CHKDSK tool to verify hard disk for awful sectors.

Both Eseutil and Isinteg commands are useful on offline Exchange database.So, dismounting the database from MS Exchange sever is necessary.

following are the steps to run Eseutil command line

1. Hit start->run or windows + r.
2. In run box write “cmd”.
3. Then go to C:\program files\Exchsrvr\bin.
4. Write Eseutil.exe in command line.

Eseutil.exe tool has 2 repair modes “r” and “p”.

Eseutil/r command is for soft recovery of  Exchange server database.

If exchange server database is highly corrupted then use Eseutil/p command line to repair inaccessible priv1.edb and pub1.edb files.

Eseutil /p C:\Program files\Exchsvr\mdbdata\ primary name.EDB

After repairing the damaged exchange database files by  Eseutil/p run Eseutil/d command to defragment the repaired database.

Now run Isinteg.exe command to check reliability of repaired exchange database.

Isinteg –s {Exchange Server name}-fix-test all tests

a) Choose the repaired edb database from the MS exchange Server Directory.

b) Run the Eseutil.exe till no threats are shown.

c) Then run Eseutil/g command to verify the reliablity of the repaired exchange database.

d) Remount the retrieve Exchange datbase files.

2) Automated Tool

Corruption in Exchange EDB files at application level( jet engine failure) or software out of order cannot be repaired by Eseutil & Isinteg. In such cases you have to rely on third party exchange edb recovery softwares which are capable of repairing, restoring & converting healthy or offline database into PST/Live exchange server.

One such software is dux edb to pst converter software which can easily repair a corrupt edb file to health edb file. It also facilitate users to convert edb to pst or other file formats such as eml, emlx, html or office 365.

you can use dux edb to pst converter software to recover your edb file data using the below link.

Download demo version

Limitation of Demo Version

The demo version of edb to pst converter software has some limitation to it such as:

1. Recover 30 EDB emails to PST outlook

To access the full features and to recover more than 30 emails from edb file you can go for the full version of the software from the direct link below.

or can go to https://www.duxdatarecovery.com/

then go to product tab and select exchange email migration.

It will redirect you exchange edb to pst recovery software page

now scroll down the page a little bit here you will see two buttons

you can either use the free version which can recover upto 30 edb mails data or you can purchase the full version without any restrictions.

Advantages of using this edb to pst converter software

• Repair and Convert EDB emails to PST outlook

• Repair EDB file and migrate EDB to PST

• Repair EDB mails from corrupt and dismounted MS Exchange Server Mailbox

• Support single and multiple email conversion

• Recover EDB file with its email properties like date,time,to,cc,bcc,subject etc.
• can preview converted data.
• Can Split large EDB file to other file formats such as eml,emlx,html and office 365