Exchange server issues – can’t upgrade to SP3 – trying to migrate to Exchange 2010

exchangeexchange-2007exchange-2010

Our Exchange server is having a lot of issues. It can't get Windows Updates anymore (error 8000FFFF) and it has a lot of other issues that are all related (Server Manager error – Catastrophic failure exception hresult 8000FFFF). Everything I've read online about it says you pretty much have to re-install Windows to fix it.

Because of that, we are going to migrate to a new server running Exchange 2010. I have the new server ready and I was doing the pre-requisite checker and it was complaining that the Exchange 2007 installation wasn't SP2 or newer. I checked and indeed, it is SP1. So I am trying to upgrade the Exchange 2007 installation to SP3, however, it is failing. It is hanging on "Removing Exchange files." I followed these instructions and it's still not working. I can get to the part where you run the upgrade from command line but it starts asking for the exchangeserver.msi file. I point it to where it is located but it keeps asking for it. I am starting to get concerned that I can't upgrade the Exchange server because of the same issues above.

My next step is to call Microsoft about the issue because I need to get it fixed however I wanted to check here first.

Best Answer

As a workaround to being unable to uninstall remove the Exchange files from the existing machine in order to do any service pack upgrades, I'd suggest the following steps to perform a seemingly in-place migration:

  1. Find a spare machine, or fire up a VM and install the OS.
  2. Join it to your domain and install Exchange 2007, SP2 or 3 on it.
  3. Perform migration or transfer (per your preference) of Exchange data and roles to temporary machine.
  4. Remove old, broken Exchange server from AD. Gracefully if possible, forcibly if necessary.
  5. Wipe the server and install a new OS on it.
  6. Join it to the domain and install Exchange 2010 on it.
  7. Perform migration or transfer (per your preference) of Exchange data and roles from Exchange 2007 on the temporary machine to Exchange 2010 on the rebuilt Server.
  8. Remove Exchange 2007 from AD.
  9. Repurpose or discard temporary machine.
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