There is not complexities in taking a offline line backup in case the services are not down properly...or any case which micheal has described. --Take a flat file copy of the databse. - Reboot the server - if the services comes up well and good - if not look for the log file it is asking for by running eseutil /mh - If the log files is there run a soft recovery eseutil /r - If it fails then the log file is corrupt. =- Restore from backup and try plying these log files after restore -DOnt have a backup perform the /p - Clear all the log files and mount the store Cheers Manoj