ESE 454 -515: Missing Required Transaction Log File

[This topic is intended to address a specific issue called out by the Exchange Server Analyzer Tool. You should apply it only to systems that have had the Exchange Server Analyzer Tool run against them and are experiencing that specific issue. The Exchange Server Analyzer Tool, available as a free download, remotely collects configuration data from each server in the topology and automatically analyzes the data. The resulting report details important configuration issues, potential problems, and nondefault product settings. By following these recommendations, you can achieve better performance, scalability, reliability, and uptime. For more information about the tool or to download the latest versions, see "Microsoft Exchange Analyzers" at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=34707.]  

Topic Last Modified: 2007-01-23

The Microsoft® Exchange Server Analyzer Tool found an ESE event 454 with error code -515. This error indicates that the Exchange database could not be mounted because a required transaction log file is missing

Explanation

An ESE 454 event with a -515 error can occur if the Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) tries to bring all databases in a storage group to a consistent state during the recovery process. If any required transaction log file are missing, the recovery process fails, and the database cannot mount with the -515 error.

User Action

To resolve this issue, do one or more of the following:

  • Using the procedures here, determine which transaction log files are missing and where they are located. Then move them back into the transaction log directory for the storage group.

  • Restore the affected database(s) from backup.

Warning

You should not try to restore the database unless the prior solution of locating and restoring the specific missing transaction log files has failed. Doing this will cause all data since the last backup to be overwritten.

Note

Prior to restoring the database(s), move or delete any transaction log files that are associated with the affected storage group from the destination path.

To identify missing transaction log files by using the Microsoft Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant in Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2007

  1. From the Microsoft Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant Display Examining Event Log Results window, click the Use related Database Recovery Management task to verify and resolve this issue link to identify the missing required transaction log files.

  2. Record the log file names reported in step 1.

  3. Determine the current location of the log files and move them back to the expected location.

Note

Be sure to search the Recycle Bin and any antivirus quarantine folders when you determine the current location of the missing transaction log files.

  1. Try to mount the affected Exchange database.

To manually identify and restore missing transaction logs on Exchange 2000 Server or Exchange Server 2003

  1. Start Exchange System Manager.

  2. Expand Administrative Groups, expand your administrative group, expand Servers, right-click your storage group, and then click Properties.

  3. On theGeneral tab, under Transaction log location, record the path of the location of the transaction log files.

  4. At a command prompt, open the directory where Eseutil.exe is located. The default path for Eseutil.exe in Exchange 2000 Server and Exchange Server 2003 is C:\program files\exchsrvr\bin.

  5. At the command prompt, enter the following command:

    eseutil /ml "logpath\logprefix"
    

    Where logpath is the path of the transaction log files recorded in step 3 and logprefix is the prefix of the transaction log files, usually e00.

    An example of this command using the defaults would be as follows:

    eseutil /ml "c:\program files\exchsrvr\mdbdata\e00".

  6. Transaction log files that are missing will be reported in one of the following two formats depending on which of the log files is missing:

    • Missing log file: c:\program files\exchsrvr\mdbdata\E0002BE2.log

    • ERROR: Missing log file(s). Log file is generation 11,235 (0x2BE3), but expected generation is 11,234 (0x2BE2).

    Where 0x2BE2 would be the missing log file, E0002BE2.log.

  7. Record the log file names reported in step 6.

  8. Determine the current location of the log files and move them back to the expected location from step 3.

Note

Be sure to search the Recycle Bin and any antivirus quarantine folders when you determine the current location of the missing transaction log files.

  1. Try to mount the affected Exchange database.

To manually identify and restore missing transaction logs on Exchange Server 2007

  1. Start the Exchange Management Console on the server on which the storage group is located.

  2. In the console tree, expand Server Configuration, and then click Mailbox.

  3. In the results pane, click the Mailbox server that contains the storage group for which you want to restore the missing transaction log files.

  4. Right-click your storage group, and then click Properties

  5. . On theGeneral tab, under Log path, record the path of the location of the transaction log files.

  6. At a command prompt, open the directory where Eseutil.exe is located. In Exchange Server 2007 Eseutil is located in the Exchange default install folder. This is <SystemDrive>:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Bin.

  7. At the command prompt, enter the following command:

    eseutil /ml "logpath\logprefix"
    

    Where logpath is the path of the transaction log files recorded in step 5 and logprefix is the prefix of the transaction log files, usually e00.

    An example of this command using the defaults would be as follows:

    eseutil /ml "c:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Bin\e00".

  8. Transaction log files that are missing will be reported in one of the following two formats depending on which of the log files is missing:

    • Missing log file: c:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Bin\E000000049A.log

    • ERROR: Missing log file(s). Log file is generation 11,235 (0x2BE3), but expected generation is 11,234 (0x2BE2).

    Where 0x2BE2 would be the missing log file, E0002BE2.log.

  9. Record the log file names reported in step 8.

  10. Determine the current location of the log files and move them back to the expected location from step 5.

Note

Be sure to search the Recycle Bin and any antivirus quarantine folders when you determine the current location of the missing transaction log files.

  1. Try to mount the affected Exchange database.

For more information about ESE Event 454, see the "Events and Errors Message Center" (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=81883).