2007 EDB to PST Recovery

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 SP1 has the ability to recover the Exchange Database (EDB) by exporting mailboxes from the EDB file to a PST file. EDB to PST recovery is achieved by running the built-in CmdLet called "Export-Mailbox" from the Exchange Management Shell included with Exchange 2007 SP1. The Export-Mailbox CmdLet can be used with various parameters to export a single mailbox to a PST file or to export multiple mailboxes to a PST file in bulk.

Things You'll Need

• 32-bit version of Exchange 2007 Management Tools
• Outlook 2003 SP2 or Outlook 2007

Instructions

Export Single Mailbox to PST Using Export-Mailbox

1. Create a folder on the client workstation or server to use as the exported PST file destination. For example, "C:\Export_PST."

2. Open the Exchange Management Shell from a workstation or server by clicking "Start," "Programs," "Microsoft Exchange Server 2007" and "Exchange Management Shell."

3. Type the following command at the Exchange Management Shell prompt:

   Export-Mailbox -Identity <AlliasNameOfMailboxToExport> -PSTFolderPath C:\Export_PST\<NameOfPstFile>.pst

4. Browse to the folder created as the destination folder to locate the recovered mailbox. For example, "C:\Export_PST."

Bulk Export of Mailboxes Using Export-Mailbox

1. Create a folder on the client workstation to use as the exported PST file destination. For example, "C:\Bulk_Export_PST."

2. Open the Exchange Management Shell from a workstation or server by clicking "Start," "Programs," "Microsoft Exchange Server 2007" and "Exchange Management Shell."

3. Type the following:

   Get-Mailbox --OrganizaionalUnit <name of OU containing mailboxes to export> | Export-Mailbox --PSTFolderPath C:\Bulk_Export_PST

4. Browse to the "C:\Bulk_Export_PST" folder to locate the recovered mailboxes.

Tips & Warnings

• You must run the Export-Mailbox CmdLet from a workstation or server running the 32-bit version of Exchange 2007 Management Tools and Outlook 2003 SP2 or Outlook 2007. You cannot run the CmdLet from a 64-bit machine because Exchange 2007 does not contain the Outlook PST provider required.

• The account used to recover EDB to PST files must be a local administrator on the source and target machines containing the mailboxes to export. The account must have full permissions to the mailboxes and have the Exchange Server admin role assigned.

• Errors generated by running the Export-Mailbox command can often be attributed to improper permission assignment. Fixing improper permissions assigned to the account used to run the command will solve permission errors.

References

• Microsoft TechNet: How to Export Mailbox Data
• The Microsoft Exchange Team Blog: How to Export and Import mailboxes to PST files in Exchange 2007 SP1
• MSExchange.org: Exchange 2007 SP1 Mailbox Management Features