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Your backup is of no value to you if you can't restore it. Here's how to verify that your online backup contains a usable copy of the database:
1. Do a full online backup of your databases.
2. Set up a test server and restore the backup. Note that if you want to restore the directory, your test server must have the same computer name as the production system.
3. Stop all Exchange services.
4. To perform an integrity check of the databases, run the following commands:
- eseutil /g /ispriv (tests the Private Information Store)
- eseutil /g /ispub (tests the Public Information Store)
- eseutil /g /ds (tests the Directory)
Make sure that the above checks report no errors. If they do, your backup has a problem. Determine whether the problem exists only on your media or if your production database has some undetected problem.
5. Restart the Exchange services.
If the services start at this point, the database is usable and
contains no errors.
