hello everyone,I have the error above when I try to remove CAS role because it is not working correctly. But lets take it form the top. We have a windows server 2008 with exchange server 2007 SP1. The latest update ( update rollup 7 ) failed to install and I had to reinstall it succefully the second time. After that, OWA was not working so I removed and reinstalled the CAS role and everything worked normal after that. Unfortunately, after the weekend ( and with no intervention whatsoever ) OWA stoped working and now when I try to remove CAS or try to do anything using exsetup I get the error : The Exchange server is in an inconsistent state. Only server recovery mode is available. Other than CAS, exchange is working normally ( sending/receiving mail etc ). I tried removing and reinstalling update rollup 7 without any result. Has anyone had any experience with this? This isa live exchange server which has been working for the past 3 months without a problem ...... Thanks in advance

did you tried uninstall via command line? try the following KB'sHow to Remove Exchange 2007 Server Roleshttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124115.aspxHow to Completely Remove Exchange 2007 from a Serverhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb123893.aspxPlease upload the exchangesetuplog error for further investigation. you can find it at the default location c:\exchange setup and progressArun Kumar | MCSE - 2K3 + Messaging | ITIL-F V3

I did try with the command line tools, I'm getting the same error there too. Only server recovery mode available. Here is the part of the exchange setup log :[29/4/2009 4:52:54 ] [0] **********************************************[29/4/2009 4:52:54 ] [0] Starting Microsoft Exchange 2007 Setup[29/4/2009 4:52:54 ] [0] **********************************************[29/4/2009 4:52:54 ] [0] Operating System version: Microsoft Windows NT 6.0.6001 Service Pack 1.[29/4/2009 4:52:54 ] [0] Setup version: 8.1.359.2.[29/4/2009 4:52:54 ] [0] Logged on user: domain\administrator.[29/4/2009 4:52:54 ] [0] Command Line Parameter Name='nologo', Value=''.[29/4/2009 4:52:54 ] [0] Command Line Parameter Name='mode', Value='Uninstall'.[29/4/2009 4:52:54 ] [0] Command Line Parameter Name='roles', Value='Microsoft.Exchange.Management.Deployment.RoleCollection'.[29/4/2009 4:52:54 ] [0] Command Line Parameter Name='fromsetup', Value=''.[29/4/2009 4:52:54 ] [0] ExSetup was started with the following command: '/NoLogo /m:uninstall /role:ca /FromSetup'.[29/4/2009 4:52:54 ] [0] Setup is choosing the domain controller to use[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] The MSExchangeADTopology has a persisted domain controller: dc.domain.local[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] PrepareAD has been run, and has replicated to this domain controller; so setup will use dc.domain.local[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] Setup is choosing a global catalog...[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] Setup has chosen the global catalog server dc.domain.local.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] Setup will use the domain controller 'dc.domain.local'.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] Setup will use the global catalog 'dc.domain.local'.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] Exchange configuration container for the organization is 'CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=domain,DC=local'.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] Exchange organization container for the organization is 'CN=domain,CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=domain,DC=local'.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] Setup will search for an Exchange Server object for the local machine with name 'EXCHANGE'.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] Exchange Server object found : 'CN=EXCHANGE,CN=Servers,CN=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT),CN=Administrative Groups,CN=domain,CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=domain,DC=local'.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] The following roles are unpacked: BridgeheadRole MailboxRole AdminToolsRole [29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] The following roles are installed: BridgeheadRole ClientAccessRole MailboxRole AdminToolsRole [29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] The local server has some Exchange files installed.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] Setup will discover the installed roles from server object 'CN=EXCHANGE,CN=Servers,CN=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT),CN=Administrative Groups,CN=domain,CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=domain,DC=local'.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] 'BridgeheadRole' is installed on the server object.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] 'ClientAccessRole' is installed on the server object.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] 'MailboxRole' is installed on the server object.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] The server is cluster type: 'None'.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] The requested cluster type: 'None'.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] The installation mode is set to: 'Uninstall'.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] An Exchange organization with name 'domain' was found in this forest.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] Active Directory Initialization status : 'True'.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] Schema Update Required Status : 'False'.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] Organization Configuration Update Required Status : 'False'.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] Domain Configuration Update Required Status : 'False'.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] The locally installed version is 8.1.240.6.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] Exchange Installation Directory : 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server'.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] Applying default role selection state[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] Applying default role selection state[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] Setup will run from path 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\'.[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] UninstallModeDataHandler has 2 DataHandlers[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] RootDataHandler has 1 DataHandlers[29/4/2009 4:52:55 ] [0] The following server roles will be removed[29/4/2009 4:52:56 ] [0] Client Access Role[29/4/2009 4:52:56 ] [0] Validating options for the 1 requested roles[29/4/2009 4:52:56 ] [0] UninstallModeDataHandler has 2 handlers and 2 work units[29/4/2009 4:52:56 ] [0] The Exchange server is in an inconsistent state. Only server recovery mode is available.[29/4/2009 4:52:56 ] [0] End of Setup[29/4/2009 4:52:56 ] [0] **********************************************The thing is I want to fix this issue with the exchange setup regardless of the state of OWA. Any suggestions would be appreciated ...

Hi,Please check whether the below link canhelp you out:http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc411332.aspxThanksAllen

I have read that article allready, but I think that this is in case you have a failed setup of an exchange servere and you want to install it again. In my case exchange is currently working fine ( besides CAS ) and I wouldnt like to remove the whole entry from AD since it would propably not work again ..... My last resort is to migrate to a new server, if nothing works out ....

Take a system state backup of the exchange server,Back up System State datahttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc781353.aspxTake IIS metabase backup of the exchange server,Back Up and Restore the IIS Metabase (IIS 6.0)http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/WindowsServer2003/Library/IIS/131b609d-ff3a-488f-a8dd-13044fa623a1.mspx?mfr=trueRemove IIS and reinstall IIS + all the IIS components,How to remove and reinstall IIS 5.0, 5.1 and 6.0http://support.microsoft.com/kb/325889Remove CAS and Reinstall CAS role.Re-create OWA IIS Virtual Directory for OWA once again if CAS installation doesnt create them automatically.How to remove and to reinstall IIS on a computer that is running Exchange Serverhttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/320202How to Create an Outlook Web Access Virtual Directory in Exchange 2007http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124811.aspxManaging Outlook Web Access Virtual Directories in Exchange 2007http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa998849.aspxArun Kumar | MCSE - 2K3 + Messaging | ITIL-F V3

Hello all,sorry for the late response. I have solved this issue, here is the path I used : I tried recreate the virtual directories with no luck. The fact the the setup was not running was bugging me a lot so I used performance and monitor tool to monitor AD communications when I was running the exsetup and everything appeared to be normal. After that I used procmon from sysinternals to monitor in what point exsetup would give that error and I discovered that it was reading exchange registry keys in HKLM\software\microsoft\exchange\v8.0 . So I exported HKLM\software\microsoft\exchange\v8.0\ClientAccessRole and deleted the whole key. After that, exsetup run normally and I managed to uninstall - reinstall CAS, update and everything seems to run smoothly ever since .... I hope there are no more surprises in this issue :) Thanks for your help