Installing Exchange 2010 on Server 2008 R2 nightmare! 1

[JonathanMortimer]

We have two Server 2008 R2 servers, one is the domain controller, the other is just a bare 2008 R2 server (to be the exchange server machine). The exchange server machine is joined to the domain and can access the internet fine using the domain controller as DHCP and DNS. The domain controller is also quite happy, can access the internet and sees the exchange server machine in Active Directory, DHCP, etc. I am logged into the domain account for Administrator, who is in all of the relevant Active Directory groups.

To date we have tried probably four times, each time formatting the whole server with a fresh copy of Server 2008 R2, each time there is a wall built of Microsoft bricks that looms up and hits us in the face.

Previously we have just run the GUI setup from the DVD, which I am led to believe should do all of the prep and prerequisites stuff for us, but it kept giving us jip about the signature being incorrect (according to technet this is due to incorrect preparation, but doesn't the GUI installer do all of this?)

In this latest attempt we followed the prerequisites guide (is this domain prep / schema prep part? It doesn't actually say)

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb691354.aspx

to the letter, going for the typical setup and using the Powershell to input the copied commands directly.

OK so far.

Installed the x64 filter pack for 2007 (not sure why we need this when we do not have any 2007 stuff). Still OK.

Running the GUI installer from the DVD, it tells me that there is an inconsistency and that I have to run setup /m:RecoverServer, quite an odd occurrence seeing as I have followed Microsoft's instructions. I run this and it goes through a lot of checks and I see a lot of COMPLETEDs on the screen, then it pauses for a long time on 98% for Hub Transport Server Role, after which it bombs telling me that the following error was generated - "Service 'MSExchangeADTopology' failed to reach status 'Running' on this server."

I am out of ideas for this, I have done everything according to the Microsoft documentation on technet and it doesn't work. Please help!

 

[58sniper]

Did you install all of the prereqs for Exchange on that server?

Automated prerequisite installation via PowerShell for Exchange Server 2010 on Windows Server 2008 R2

http://www.ucblogs.net/blogs/exchan...ge-Server-2010-on-Windows-Server-2008-R2.aspx

Cleaner configuration of the FilterPack for Exchange Server 2010

http://www.ucblogs.net/blogs/exchan...-the-FilterPack-for-Exchange-Server-2010.aspx

Also - don't forget to install the Update Rollup:
Quicker, easier Exchange installs, complete with service packs and rollups!

http://www.ucblogs.net/blogs/exchan...-complete-with-service-packs-and-rollups.aspx

Pat Richard MVP
Plan for performance, and capacity takes care of itself. Plan for capacity, and suffer poor performance.

http://www.ucblogs.net/blogs/exchange/

 

[JonathanMortimer]

Thank you very much for the links.

I am currently reformatting as the Exchange installer refuses to install or uninstall now, will give the script a go and see what happens. Is there a preferred method for running the script? Powershell is new to me with Server 2008 R2.

Should I need to do anything with the domain controller? I assume the exchange script will just make the changes necessary regardless of what's already there.

 

[JonathanMortimer]

I have run the automated prerequisite script and watched the system reboot, I also rebooted the domain controller and the client PC which was also attached to the network.

I am receiving the same error as before -
"Some controls are not valid
- The Exchange Server is in an inconsistent state. Only disaster recovery mode is available. Please use Setup /m:RecoverServer to recover this Exchange server."

As this is a formatted machine (I chose to format the partition when doing the new Server 2008 R2 install, though it must only have been a quick format as it took less than a second to do it) with nothing on it except Server 2008 R2, I have to assume that the fault is actually on the domain controller, unless of course the script is wrong which I doubt, or the Server 2008 R2 installer didn't actually overwrite any of the original files when it 'formatted'.

Should I format the domain controller and exchange machine and start from scratch? What method can I use to completely format all hard drives in the servers?

 

[NortonES2]

Did my install following these guidelines

http://www.messagingtalk.org/exchange-2010-rc-quick-installation-guide

Starting at:-

II. Pre-Requisites for Windows 2008 R2:

-------------------------------

If it doesn't leak oil it must be empty!!

 

[58sniper]

My prereq install script does all of that for you, assuming R2.

If you're getting an error on a new server about an inconsistent state, then AD has some bad info. You're likely going to need to do the /m:recoverserver switch to reinstall the original Exchange server. At that point, you could either remove the server cleanly, or move forward.

When a server installation fails, flattening the machine doesn't clean up what's already been done in AD.

Pat Richard MVP
Plan for performance, and capacity takes care of itself. Plan for capacity, and suffer poor performance.

http://www.ucblogs.net/blogs/exchange/

 

[JonathanMortimer]

I have been here before, done the /m:recoverserver but it failed and broke the exchange installer, which subsequently refused to install or uninstall anything.

Is there a way to clear out the Active Directory stuff manually (if so, what exactly do I remove or change?) or is it just quicker to flatten both servers and start again?

 

[58sniper]

If these are both servers that have no users on them (such as a new deployment or lab), I'd flatten both.

I'm making the assumption that this is the ONLY domain controller, and the Exchange box is the ONLY other machine in the domain.

Pat Richard MVP
Plan for performance, and capacity takes care of itself. Plan for capacity, and suffer poor performance.

http://www.ucblogs.net/blogs/exchange/

 

[JonathanMortimer]

Yes, this is effectively a lab environment while we get the new exchange and domain controller working. These are the only two servers, there is one test client PC running Windows XP Pro. I will flatten both as you say, then try the Powershell script again. Thanks for your help on this, fingers crossed it works this time!

Just one question, is there anything I need to do on the domain controller to prepare for exchange, or anything I should NOT do (for example when installing Roles on the domain controller)? I assume all that exchange requires is handled by the Powershell script. For a basic domain controller that also does DHCP and DNS, what would be the minimum Roles / Features required?

 

[58sniper]

Not really. Start with a fresh domain, with working DNS. Run netdiag and dcdiag to verify everything is working. Add the second server as a member server. Install all Windows updates on both servers. Run the powershell script. Install Exchange. Drink beer.

Pat Richard MVP
Plan for performance, and capacity takes care of itself. Plan for capacity, and suffer poor performance.

http://www.ucblogs.net/blogs/exchange/

 

[58sniper]

Just a quick FYI that if you're not manually doing the forestprep and domainprep steps, the account you use to install Exchange must be an Enterprise Admin, Domain Admin, and Schema Admin so that the schemas can be extended.

Ideally, you'd do the schema changes with a master account, and create an exchange admin account to do the install.

But either way will work.

Pat Richard MVP
Plan for performance, and capacity takes care of itself. Plan for capacity, and suffer poor performance.

http://www.ucblogs.net/blogs/exchange/

 

[JonathanMortimer]

Just to clarify, are the forestprep and domainprep steps what the script does?

 

[58sniper]

No - the script installs the Windows prereqs. The forestprep and domainprep steps can either be done with setup.com manually, or will be done automatically via setup.exe.

Pat Richard MVP
Plan for performance, and capacity takes care of itself. Plan for capacity, and suffer poor performance.

http://www.ucblogs.net/blogs/exchange/

 

[JonathanMortimer]

Ah OK, thanks.