What is a deleted mailbox in Exchange server?

Organizations all over the world use the Exchange server for email and communication. A deleted mailbox is one that no longer exists on an Exchange server and has been deleted due to inactivity. An IT administrator can delete a user mailbox when an employee leaves an organization or when it is no longer used. If you want to restore such a mailbox, you must connect it to a temporary user account. However, restoring deleted mailboxes becomes necessary when no prior backup of the deleted mailbox is taken and you must recover certain emails or mail data for compliance purposes. Under normal circumstances, deleted mailboxes are retained in the Exchange database for 30 days before being purged. Furthermore, you can only recover a deleted mailbox if the retention period has not yet expired. If the retention period has expired, you must use third-party software to recover the mailboxes from an Exchange database backup snapshot. In this article, we will look at how to recover deleted mailboxes as well as mail items from Exchange 2019, 2016, 2013 and 2010.

How to change the retention period of deleted mailboxes in Exchange?

By default, Exchange online retains deleted emails and mail items for 14 days and deleted mailboxes for 30 days, which can be configured and extended from the Exchange admin center (EAC). Let's take a look at the step-by-step instructions for changing the retention period.

Steps to change the retention period of deleted Exchange mailboxes

1. Navigate to the 'Exchange admin center'
2. Select 'servers' at the bottom of the left pane
3. Select the database that your Exchange server is using and click 'edit'
4. Under 'limits' in the left pane, edit the field 'Keep deleted mailboxes for (days)'

You can change the default value from 30 days to any period you wish and then Save. There is also the option to prevent item deletion until the database has been backed up.

1. How to recover and connect a deleted Exchange server mailbox?

   To recover deleted mailboxes from Exchange 2013, 2016, and 2019, connect the disconnected mailbox to a user account from the EAC within the 30 day retention period.

   Steps to connect a deleted Exchange mailbox to a user in Exchange 2019, 2016 and 2013

   1. In the 'Exchange admin center' click the 'mailboxes' tab under 'recipients'
   2. Click on the three-dots menu and select 'Connect to a mailbox'
   3. Select the deleted mailbox from the list and choose 'connect' to restore
   4. Connect the deleted mailbox to an existing user account from the list that is not mail-enabled.
   5. To reconnect to a deleted user account, retrieve the user from the Active Directory (AD) Recycle bin.
   6. Create a new AD user if the user is deleted from the Recycle Bin.
   7. Connect the disconnected mailbox to the newly created user.
   8. Finally, click the 'refresh icon' under 'mailboxes' to check the status.

   There are a few things to keep in mind here. When you delete a mailbox from Exchange, the mailbox and the associated user in AD are also deleted and moved to the AD Recycle bin if you have this enabled. If the deleted AD user account does not exist, you must create a new one from the EAC and link the disconnected mailbox to this user. Connecting to a deleted mailbox is also possible using the Exchange Management Shell (EMS) cmdlet Connect-Mailbox.

2. Steps for connecting a deleted Exchange mailbox to a user in Exchange 2010 and 2007 using EMC

   To restore deleted mailboxes from Exchange 2010 and 2007, use the Exchange Management Console (EMC), a graphical interface tool for managing the server, email accounts, and components, as well as restoring deleted mailboxes.

   Steps to move Exchange 2013/2016 mailboxes to another server

   • Step 1: Launch the Exchange Management Console as an administrator from your computer’s Control panel.
   • Step 2 : Select 'Disconnected mailbox' from the Recipient Configuration menu on the left.
   • Step 3: Select the mailbox to be restored and click ‘Connect to Server’
   • Step 4: Choose one of the options: User Mailbox, Room, Equipment or Linked mailboxes.
   • Step 5: Select the 'Existing User' option under Mailbox Settings.
   • Step 6: To connect to the mailbox, search for and select an existing user from the list.
   • Step 7: Enter a name for the alias and link the deleted mailbox to the user.

3. Steps for connecting a deleted Exchange mailbox to a user in Exchange 2003 and 2000 using ESM

   To restore deleted mailboxes from Exchange 2000 and 2003, use the Exchange System Manager (ESM), which manages the server and server settings in the organization, including Global settings, Address Lists, Connectors, public folders, and mailbox stores, among other things.

   • Step 1: Click Start>Programs>Microsoft Exchange and launch the Exchange System Manager.
   • Step 2: Expand 'Servers' in the left pane and select the server from which to recover the mailbox.
   • Step 3: Expand ‘Mailbox Store’ and run the Cleanup Agent on Mailboxes.
   • Step 4: Reconnect by right-clicking the mailbox you want to recover.
   • Step 5: Finally, associate the reconnected mailbox with a user account.

4. How to restore a deleted mailbox in Exchange to an existing mailbox?

   The New-MailboxRestoreRequest command can be used to restore a deleted mailbox in Exchange to an existing mailbox. In this case, no AD user is required, and the contents of the deleted mailbox are simply copied to an existing mailbox.

   Steps to restore deleted mailbox to an existing mailbox in Exchange

   • 1. Run the cmdlet Get-MailboxStatistics to get the value of the Mailbox GUID.
   • 2. Run the cmdlet New-MailboxRestoreRequest -SourceStoreMailbox and select the target mailbox for restore.
   • 3. Run the cmdlet Get-MailboxRestoreRequest and check the Status position
   • 4. Finally, cross-verify the restore by checking the contents in the target mailbox.

   The previous two methods of connecting deleted Exchange mailboxes are feasible if the Exchange database is not corrupted. If the Exchange database is offline, dismounted, or corrupted as a result of an Exchange server crash, it is not possible to directly restore a deleted mailbox. The PowerShell commands to restore mailboxes is inconvenient, and if the retention period for the deleted mailboxes has passed, there is no way to retrieve your mailboxes from the database. To recover an EDB file and export deleted mailboxes from it in these circumstances, you must use a professional third-party recovery tool.

5. Restore and connect deleted Exchange server mailboxes using EdbMails

   EdbMails is a Microsoft-partnered Exchange recovery tool that can fully repair corrupted EDB files as well as migrate disconnected Exchange mailboxes to another Exchange server without the need for an AD profile (new Active Directory user). You can export the entire mailbox to an Outlook PST file or specific mail items to HTML, EML, and MHT formats if you want to recover the contents of the disconnected mailboxes for legal verification, compliance, or backup purposes.

   Another advantage of EdbMails is that its user-friendly graphical interface enables you to export disconnected Exchange mailboxes to PST including deleted mailboxes, deleted mail items such as emails, contacts, notes, tasks, and so on. The application supports EDB from Exchange 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003 and is compatible with both Windows and Windows server operating systems.

   How to restore deleted mailboxes from Exchange 2019-2003?

   To restore a deleted Exchange server mailbox from any Exchange server version, simply select the offline, corrupted or damaged database file (.EDB) and use EdbMails EDB converter software to recover it. Select and export the disconnected mailboxes to PST from the application.

   • Step 1: Copy and create a backup of the Exchange database file (EDB)

     Before attempting to recover the deleted mailboxes, backup the Exchange server database and install Microsoft Outlook on your computer.

   • Step 2: Download and install EdbMails Exchange recovery and migration tool

     Download and install the EdbMails software setup

      See EdbMails System requirements for export and migration operations.

     

     Start the application and click 'Login' or 'Start Your Free Trial'.

     

     Select 'EDB to PST. EDB to Office 365. EDB to Exchange'.

     

   • Step 3: Select the EDB file containing the disconnected mailboxes

     Browse and select the offline EDB file on your computer that you want to recover and export the contents. If the EDB file is corrupted, EdbMails can resolve the Dirty Shutdown error of the Exchange database without relying on log files or connection to the Exchange server.

     

   • Step 4: Select the mailboxes and folders from EdbMails that you want to export

     From the left pane, select all the folders and mailboxes for export. You can convert individual mail items from EDB to MHT, HTML and EML formats and preview them in the right pane. You can also export Exchange emails to PST by specific date by using the ‘Settings’ option.

     

   • Step 5: Click 'Migrate to live Exchange'

     The options in the lower right corner enable you to export the Exchange mailboxes to PST format. You can also directly import the EDB file to Office 365 or perform Exchange migration. You can export the mailboxes to PST format or directly Import the EDB to Office 365 and Exchange server from the options in the lower-right corner.

     

   • Step 6: Verify the mailboxes for export and name the export job

     Before you start the export or migration, verify the list of mailboxes that you have selected and enter a name for the job to save your settings for future operations.

     

   • Step 7: Start exporting your deleted mailboxes to PST file

       To export deleted mail items from EdbMails, such as emails, calendar items or specific contacts, navigate to Show All Folders>Recoverable Items>Deletions. This folder will contain the deleted mail items, which you can view and export to the desired format.