The Ntdsutil tool may fail to repair the Active Directory database (the Ntds.dit file) and generates one or more of the following errors:

Operation failed because the database was inconsistent.

Initialize jet database failed; cannot access file.

Error while performing soft recovery. 

• To perform an integrity check
  • Start a command prompt
  • Type the following command (including the quotation marks), and then press ENTER: esentutl /g "path\ntds.dit"/!10240 /8 /v /x /o

    where path is the path to the folder that contains the Ntds.dit db file. By default, this folder is C:\Winnt\Ntds.

• To repair the database:
  • Type the following command (including the quotation marks), and then press ENTER: esentutl /p "path\ntds.dit" /!10240 /8 /v /x /o

Import: Delete the database log files from the Winnt/Ntds folder. Do not delete or move the Ntds.dit file.

Taken from kb article Q305500.

Related Tips:

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• How to Recover from Event ID 1168 and Event ID 1003
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• Cannot Repair the Active Directory Database by Using the Ntdsutil Tool