An Exchange Server 2003 hotfix is available to let you extract mailboxes without specifying a password option when you use the Exchange 2003 Migration Wizard (Mailmig.exe)

This article describes a hotfix that you can apply to let you run the Exchange 2003 Migration Wizard (Mailmig.exe) to extract a mailbox to a personal folders (.pst) file without specifying a password.

By default, when you migrate a mailbox to a .pst file by using the Exchange 2003 Migration Wizard, you must specify a password option for the migrated mailboxes. You may have a scenario in which you want to migrate mailboxes without having a password set for each migrated mailbox.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. For more information about this hotfix, including file information and installation instructions, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Additional hotfix installation information

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

After you apply this hotfix, you must modify the following registry entry to enable the functionality that this hotfix provides: By default, this registry entry has a value of 0 (zero). The default behavior requires a password for the migrated mailbox. To configure the Exchange 2003 Migration Wizard not to use a password for the exported .pst file, set the CreateWithoutPassword registry value to a nonzero value such as 1.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

When you run the Exchange 2003 Migration Wizard after you apply this hotfix and after you enable the functionality that this hotfix provides, a PST.PASSWORD file is still generated. However, the Password field contains a blank value. For example, a PST.PASSWORD file that resembles the following example file is created: For more information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: