How to change the location of the MTA Database and the MTA Run Directory in Exchange 2000 Server (259896)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
  • Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server
This article was previously published under Q259896
Important This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure to back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows registry

SUMMARY

Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server lack the Performance Optimizer that facilitated relocating the Message Transfer Agent (MTA) Database and the MTA Run Directory. You can change the paths by changing the registry values.

MORE INFORMATION

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

To change the paths of the MTA Database and the MTA Run Directory

  1. Stop the Microsoft Exchange MTA Stacks service. To do so, at the command prompt type the following command: net stop msexchangemta.
  2. Edit the following value to reflect the new location for the MTA Database Path (no change is required if you are not relocating the MTA Database Path):

    HKEY_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeMTA\Parameters\MTA Database Path

  3. Edit the following value to reflect the new location for the MTA Run Directory (no change is required if you are not relocating the MTA Run Directory):

    HKEY_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeMTA\Parameters\MTA Run Directory

  4. Explore the new path and make the new directory structure. You may omit the Mtacheck.out folder in the MTA Database Path because it makes this directory and runs later in this procedure.

    Important Explore the installation drive and make a backup copy of the exchsrvr\mtadata directory.
  5. Explore the original exchsrvr\mtadata directory.
  6. On the View menu, click Details, and again on the View menu, point to Arrange Icons, and then click by Type. Select and then move all of the *.dat files to the new MTA Database path. Change the security for the directory to match that of the original directory.
  7. Select all of the other files, and then move them to the new MTA Run Directory. Change the security of the directory to match that of the original directory.
  8. Delete the original exchsrvr\mtadata directory.
  9. At a command prompt, go to the exchsrvr\bin directory.
  10. Within the exchsrvr\bin directory, run mtacheck; the task should report "Database clean, no errors detected." You may have to run mtacheck again to receive this successful report message.
  11. Start the Microsoft Exchange MTA Stacks service. To do so, at the command prompt type the following command: net start msexchangemta.

    Note This procedure may not work for an Exchange 2003 cluster or an Exchange 2000 cluster, because when the service is stopped, the cluster's Registry Checkpoint is created in a special area of the quorum. Changes that are made to the registry on the node may be overwritten when the MTA service is started, and the Registry Checkpoint information is written back up to the drive.

    To make this procedure work, make the changes to the active node registry settings before you stop the MTA service. Then, stop the MTA service. This reads the "current" registry settings into the Registry Checkpoint at shutdown. Then, restart the MTA service. This reads the correct information back up to the registry. The change will also be carried to the passive node on the next failover.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:6/20/2005
Keywords:kbinfo KB259896
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.