Use ExMerge to restore Exchange mailboxes
By Ray Geroski, Special to ZDNet Asia
Thursday, December 26, 2002 12:00 PM
Thursday, December 26, 2002 12:00 PM
Whether you're in the process of moving an Exchange server or you just need a tool for backing up and restoring mailboxes, ExMerge is a good solution. Find out about some of the ways ExMerge can streamline Exchange administration.
Microsoft’s Exchange Mailbox Merge utility, commonly known as ExMerge, is designed to facilitate e-mail migration. But it can also make backing up and restoring mailboxes much easier.
In response to recent Technical Q&A question, TechRepublic members offered some general tips on backing up and restoring Exchange mailboxes, as well as information on using ExMerge to simplify the process. Here's a look at some of the members' suggestions, along with advice from TechRepublic's Exchange administrator based on his experience with ExMerge.
Member advice on tackling the task at hand
Facing the challenge of creating a corporate network, member adiran wanted to know how to easily restore mailboxes.
“A complete restore from image works,” adiran said, “but is there a way to restore mailboxes in a single-server environment?”
Member Nate McAlmond suggested that adiran use Microsoft’s ExMerge utility (which is included on the Exchange 2000 CD) to restore individual mailboxes on the server.
“ExMerge is really intended as a migration tool, but it makes the best [brick-level] backup for Exchange I’ve ever seen.”
To use ExMerge to back up mailboxes, McAlmond instructed adiran to copy the Exmerge.ini file to the directory \Program Files\Exchsrvr\BIN\ and then use the two-step process to create .pst files from each of the mailboxes.
“You can even tell it which folders to skip, like the Deleted Items,” McAlmond said.
Another member, Mike Nelson, suggested that adiran consult the following resources:
He also provided the following instructions for restoring mailboxes in a single-server environment:
- After installing Exchange 2000, run Exchange System Manager and access the Private And Public Store Properties tab.
- In the Database tab, select This Database Can Be Overwritten By Restore.
- Dismount both Stores.
- Run Veritas BackupExec, NT Backup, or any Exchange backup program to restore Private and Public Stores.
- Mount both Stores.
- Run Exchange System Manager.
- Right-click on Mailbox Store and click Mailboxes and then choose Run Mailbox Cleanup Agent. This informs the system that the mailboxes are orphaned.
- Access Active Directory Users And Computers and create a new account for the mailbox you need to access.
- On the third screen of the wizard, deselect Create An Exchange Mailbox.
- Return to Exchange System Manager, right-click on the mailbox, and select Reconnect.
- After performing these steps, follow the instructions for getting service account access offered in this Microsoft Knowledge Base article.
- Install Outlook to view mailbox contents on the server or run ExMerge.
“This will allow you to export mailbox and public folder contents to a personal folder file (.pst) for importing into a new Exchange installation,” Nelson said.
ExMerge in the trenches
TechRepublic Exchange Administrator Mike Laun believes the easiest way for adiran to accomplish his task is to script ExMerge to back up each mailbox. But he said it might not be the best tool for large organizations, because ExMerge is resource intensive. If the mailboxes are large, he said, using ExMerge to back up and restore items can be taxing on the server. In the case of larger organizations, Laun suggested using ExMerge to back up only mailboxes that contain critical data, such as mailboxes belonging to upper management or resource mailboxes.
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Nice tutorial, be sure to install the same exchange service packs on the new server as on the old one, otherwise the backup wont work.
Posted by Kees van Dorp on Friday, March 14 2003 05:34 PM