after a catastrophic failure of an exchange server, and the subsequent unsuccessful restore i am wondering if there is a way to extract useful information from the priv.edb & pub.edb files on a backup tape. cannot rebuild the server as per the ms restore instructions as the IT cell didnt keep any records of the build and then completely re-built the lan (good work fella!!). does anyone know of any workarounds or 3rd party software which will accomplish the recovery of the information. cheers, geekwannabe.