Introduction to the Exchange server mounting error
Exchange server is a communication and email service which is used in many organizations and manages user mailboxes, contacts, files and folders. These mailbox items are stored in the database file or .edb which functions as a central repository of all the mailbox data. The Exchange server keeps writing the transactions to the log files from where they are finally updated to the EDB file. When all the transactions have been successfully committed, the database is said to be in the Clean Shutdown state. The Exchange server also requires that the database be mounted before it can be accessed. However, there are certain situations when the log files go missing or when the transactions are not successfully committed to the database. In these scenarios, the Exchange database shows Dirty Shutdown error fails to mount and you get the error 'Failed to mount database EDB', ,'Unable to mount database hr0x80004005 ec=1108', 'Failed to mount database: An active manager operation failed in Exchange 2016'. In this writeup we shall look at some of the common reasons for encountering this error and the methods to resolve it.
Common causes of Exchange database failure to mount
The most common cause of mounting failure of an Exchange database is that the transaction log files are missing and inconsistent with the database file. The error message can also occur when an EDB file is corrupted, making the user’s mailboxes inaccessible. Some other cause are as follows:
- The EDB file shows Dirty Shutdown on mount
- The database file is locked or being used by another service or application
- Exchange server crash or hard drive failure corrupts the EDB
- Virus infection or malware attack renders the EDB useless
- Conflicting applications with the Exchange server services
- Corruption and mounting issues due to an oversized EDB file
