XADM: How to Defragment with the ESEUTIL Utility (Eseutil.exe)

ID: Q192185

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

ESEUTIL is used to defragment the Microsoft Exchange Server information store and directory. ESEUTIL examines the structure of the database tables and records (which can include reading, scanning, repairing, and defragmenting) the low level of the database (Ese.dll).

ESEUTIL is located in the WINNT\System32 directory. The utility can run on one database at a time from the Windows NT Server command line.


MORE INFORMATION

Defragmenting a Database:

The defragmentation option makes used storage contiguous, eliminates unused storage, and compacts the database, thus reducing its size. ESEUTIL copies database records to a new database. When defragmention is complete, the original database is deleted or saved to a user-specified location, and the new version is renamed as the original. If the utility encounters a bad record, it stops and displays an error.

Note: Defragmenting a database requires free disk space equal to 110 percent of the size of the database being processed.

  1. Stop the directory using the Services application in Control Panel.


  2. At the command prompt, change to the Winnt\System32 directory and type ESEUTIL /d, a database switch, and any desired options.


For example, the following command runs the standard defragmentation utility on the directory and saves the copy in the user-defined file:
C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32> ESEUTIL /d /ds /tc:\dbback /p
Use one of the following database switches to run ESEUTIL on a specific database: 

   Option         Description
   ------         -----------
   /ds            Directory
   /ispriv        Private information store
   /ispub         Public information store

Select one or more options to specify the operations performed on the database: 

   Option         Description
   ------         -----------
   /b path        Makes a backup copy of the original uncompacted database
                  at the specified location.

   /p             Retains and preserves the original uncompacted database
                  in its original location and stores the new compacted
                  database in the default file \Exchsrvr\Bin\Tempdfrg.edb.

   /t filename    Creates and renames the new compacted database in the
                  specified path.

   /o             Does not display the Microsoft Exchange Server banner.

For Exchange Server versions 4.0 and 5.0, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q163627. : XADM: How to Defrag an EDB file on a Non-Exchange Server
The TEMPDFRG.EDB file will get created on Logical Drive from which ESEUTIL /D is ran from unless the /T Switch is used.
Example:

D:\>ESEUTIL /D /ISPRIV
This will create a TEMPDFRG.EDB on the Root of D:

Additional query words: defrag ese ese.dll extensible storage engine 


Keywords          : 
Version           : WINDOWS:5.5
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: April 12, 1999