XADM: Recovering a Single Mailbox from the Online Backup

Mailboxes can be recovered onto a recovery server, in a lab, with Online backup without disturbing the server in production.

To recover the mailbox, you need a Recovery Server (one that is in Lab environment and not in production) with enough storage capacity as to install Microsoft Exchange Server and to restore the entire private information store database. The following outlines the procedure for single mailbox recovery from the online backup.

1. Log on to a computer running Windows NT Server with the Administrator account.
2. Install Microsoft Exchange Server computer on Windows NT. During the installation, select Create a new site, and give the same Site and Organization name as the backup.
3. Apply Windows NT and Exchange updates (both Service Packs and Hotfixes) to this recovery server to bring it to the same level as the original server on which the backup was made.
   
   NOTE: If you do not update to matching service pack or hotfix levels, it can slow down this recovery process greatly, or even prevent its success.
4. Restore the information store from the backup.
   
   
   • Please make sure to redirect your restore to the Recovery Server.
   • Before restoring the information store, Circular Logging should match what was used when the Online Backup was performed.
   • Before you restore the information store, make sure all your mdbdata folders on all possible drives are empty.
   For example, if the tape was backed up with Circular Logging disabled in the Server properties/Advanced tab on the production server, then the recovery server should have Circular Logging disabled as well.
5. Start the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program and run the DS/IS consistency adjustment tool. Select All Inconsistencies before you click the Adjust button.
   
   NOTE TO EXCHANGE SERVER 5.5 USERS: Also check the top check box, which reads Synchronize with the directory, and create new directory entries for mailboxes that do not have a corresponding directory entry.
6. Open the property page of the mailbox to be recovered.
7. From General/Primary Windows NT Account, click Select an existing Windows NT account, click OK, and then add "Administrator" account.
8. Close the mailbox property page.
9. Use Microsoft Exchange Client to create the PST, and then copy the contents of the mailbox to the PST.
10. Add this PST to the user's profile on the production server. As an alternative, the user can add the PST to his hard disk.

Microsoft Exchange Server, version 4.0

The above procedure works when all mailboxes are in default Recipients container. If you want to recover a mailbox in other container, that container has to be manually created prior to running DS/IS consistency adjustment.

For additional information about recovering a mailbox from a second level container, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: IMPORTANT: The same version of Windows NT and Exchange Server, including service packs, must be installed on both the server you are restoring from and the server you are restoring to. Also note that the location of the databases and logfiles needs to be the same on both servers.