Please help - I have broken my exchange server!!

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I have completely broken my exchange server:
Basically I tried to move my exchangedatabase files, pretty badly messed it up and ended up completely uninstalling exchange(there are currently no users, as this is just a test server). Things got even worse when I tried to reinstall. I decided that instead of trying to move database files around I would just install exchange to a non-default location(on a separate, larger disk), the actual installation went fine, but there is no exchange folder on the start menu, no "exchange tasks" option when you right-click a user in AD, and when you you try to open the system manager portion of server management(this a 2003 small business server) it says that snap-in creation failed. I thought about uninstalling exchange (again) and then just reinstalling to the default location, but when you try to remove it says there are mailboxes in use.

Does anyone have any idea what i could possibly have done, and any suggestions of how to fix it, because this is giving me a headache!!

 

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I've never worked with Small Business server, but my guess from trying to do multiple installs of things like SQL server on the same machine when the first installation is hosed is that you have conflicting registry settings left over from your first Exchange installation. Once you install something an uninstall never gets rid of everything. There's always a bunch of settings left behind. That's why you have the error messages you do, and are missing the things you're missing. It's most likely possible to work through the entire problem with the help of someone very experienced in Exchange and Small Business server, but probably the easiest is just to wipe out the entire thing and start over, starting with the OS. That's what I've ended up doing in situations similar to this.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth, and that's probably all it's worth too, 2 cents.

 

In my experience of SBS is when it goes wrong it really goes wrong. It's not the same as Windows server + whatever applications it's got extra bits and bobs.

I think the best way will be to start the whole install over, it's a pain but I once stayed up till 5 am trying to repair a broken SBS server, got a complete expert in the next day who took one look and just told me to wipe it and start again.

I'm no MCSE but a knackered SBS server in my experience is not worth trying to repair. The documentation will tell you that it's a windows box with all the apps bundled in but there's more stuff in there they don't tell you about I swear. Not worth the bother trying to fix if you can just nuke it back to the stoneage and start again.

 

See the thing is, I had a job activating it, the software came from an MS action pack at work and has definitely been activated more times than it should
Although I do agree with you, when SBS goes wrong, it goes horribly wrong, so I'll probably spend Sunday rebuilding it, oh well...