Exchange 2003 freezes 12

[betanet]

Hi Guys,
Here is my problem; I have a Windows 2000 domain sp4 and a member server (2003) that is running exchange 2003. The problem is (and its getting worse) the exchange server keeps going belly up, it freezes up and the only way to get it going again is to switch it off and restart it again (I know, I know that’s against all the rules) Sometimes when it reboots the exchange store won't start, this has to be done manually. The exchange server is a very high speck server, so that is not an issue. Could this be something to do with the schema differences between 2000 and 2003, or should the exchange server be a DC as well?
Thanks in advance.
Betanet

 

[betanet]

Whooo lads, it's a bright sunny Monday in Ireland and I'm slightly hungover, I didn't expect so many replies, many thanks to all.
I never checked the 3GB switch in the ini file, will do that today. We do have the latest BIOS/drivers for the system. I'll keep you posted.
PScottC: I love the quote

 

[betanet]

I've edited the ini file to 3GB, this fix has not helped!!!!
I am now at the end of my reason and the customer in question is starting to look at me like I don't know what I'm doing,,,, help.

 

[nickpark]

Could you try disabling any AV software running on it.
Sorry - I know it looks like a hardware issue, but you never know.

 

[zoeythecat]

Have you checked your Antivirus program to make sure all exchange directories and the M drive are excluded? How does Exchange go belly up? Does the CPU get to a 100% or does the Exchange services just stop? Can you give some more detail. What version of Exchange does your customer have? Are you running out of space on your Information Store? (Exchange Standard has 16GB limit) I would first check the antivirus program to make sure you have excluded the Exchange Directories and M drive from scanning.

 

[nickpark]

zoeythecat,
i second all that... (except for the m drive - its ex2003).

Also, can you ping the server when it hangs, can you access any server management stuff via http or whatnot, can you connect in remotely via Computer Management mmc to view Services statuses?

How many mailboxes does it host? If it's a high spec server and you have lots of users, consider implementing a second server for resilience... I like clusters simply for the ability to do maintenance on one server with no downtime.

Can you post the server model, storage model, etc?

Is the complete system on the HCL?

betanet said: ... between the three servers to ...
What 3 servers?

 

[betanet]

Ok, the server model is a Dell Poweredge 2600, duel xeon processor 2GB of DDR RAM with plenty of hard drive space. The other two servers are windows 2000, one is a DC the other a member server, the exchange server is windows 2003 enterprise edition and is also a member server. The mailbox store is about 30 users, but the mailbox size is running to about 70GBs (they are all architects and need to keep all their mails and almost all mails have large attachments) The AntiVirus software we are using is Kaspersky version 4.5 (this is to be upgraded to version 5 soon). When the server freezes, it does just that, the mail store shuts down, the whole system won’t budge, mouse, etc, ctrl + alt + del won’t work. When this happens I can’t ping the server and all mapped drives shut down. I have a suspicion that the AntiVirus may be causing the problem; the upgrade should sort this out. This is my last hope and I’m keeping the fingers crossed on that one. I hope this is enough information to go for the moment, let me know if more is needed.
Thank you to all who have contributed to this problem, your input is much appreciated.
Cheers,
Betanet

 

[llevon]

Run the Dell OpenManage Server Administrator

On the main page check the Health of the server making sure all are green ticks.

Also check the logs section for any errors, especially those that might coincide with the crashes.

Finally within the OpenManage software there are diagnostics that can be run online.

Good luck

llevon

PS The OpenManage Software would of shipped with the DELL Server as new. If it isnt there you can download it.

 

[xmsre]

Disable ASR and configure a full memory dump. Afer it happens the next time, download the debugging tools from microsoft, install, rund windbg, set the symbol path to the symbol server, open the memory.dmp file and do a
!analyze. Sould find something useful.

My personal guess would be a fault in the broadcom NIC driver. You might want to update it to the latest version just to safe.

 

[betanet]

I've been on to Microsoft support, so the dump logs and all diagnostics have been done. The nic driver is looking like the last stand against defeat. If that doesn't work I am going to have to backup and then reinstall exchange.
Thank you to one and all for your support and input.
Cheers,
Betanet

 

[xmsre]

How old is the Server Assist CD? The NIC driver issue was all the rage last year. I've seen it multiple times.

 

[SinginVic]

Check out this link

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;216060

there are some schema modifications that you need to check out. . .

 

[NetworkDOC]

Are you by chance terminal serviceing into the exchange server?

I have an exchange server that sometimes when I or the onsite admin terminal services into it it will do similar. If I use VNC it doesn't. I have quit terminal serviceing into it for about 2 1/2 months and the problem went away....

Odd... But true....

 

[betanet]

Thanks lads (please correct me if there are any ladies present), the nic drivers is the likely culprit, I am putting in a gigabit backbone between the servers and changing the network cards. To answer your question NetworkDoc, no we don’t use terminal services to access the exchange server (I’ll keep that info in mind for future reference). The registry edit looks like a possibility as well. I’m going to get working on that today. Thanks for the suggestions.
Cheers,
Betanet

 

[damion68]

We had the same config. Dell 2600 Dual Xeon 2gb the server kept locking up. After numerous calls to Dell, they finally came out and replaced everything but the case. Haven't had a problem since.
damion

 

[betanet]

Sounds like Dell, I'll give them a call.