How to recover deleted public folders or items that are deleted from public folders by using the PFDAVAdmin tool in Exchange 2000 Server or in Exchange Server 2003

This article describes how to recover deleted public folders or items that are deleted from public folders in Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 or in Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server. You can use the Microsoft Exchange Server Public Folder DAV-based Administration (PFDAVAdmin) tool to recover public folders or items. You can use the methods that are described in this article when you cannot recover folders or items by using the Recover deleted items command in Microsoft Outlook.

Note Deleted folders or items are preserved only if the Keep deleted items for (days) option is enabled on the public store.

You can recover public folders or items by using version 2.3 of the PFDAVAdmin tool. The PFDAVAdmin tool uses the Exadmin virtual server to recover deleted public folders. Therefore, you have a better chance of recovering public folders or items if you use the PFDAVAdmin tool instead of using other methods. The Exadmin virtual server is typically used by Exchange System Manager to administer public folders.

For more information about the PFDAVAdmin tool, view the PFDAVAdmin.doc file that is available in the folder where you extract the PFDAVAdmin files. To use the PFDAVAdmin tool to recover deleted objects, follow these steps, as appropriate for your situation.

Step 1: Download the PFDAVAdmin tool

1. Download the PFDAVAdmin tool from the following Microsoft Download Center Web site.
   The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:
   
   Download the PFDAVAdmin.EXE package now. Release Date: June 7, 2006
   
   For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   119591 How to obtain Microsoft support files from online services
   Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.
2. Copy the tool to a folder on the desktop.
3. Double-click the PFDAVAdmin.exe file, and then extract the files to an appropriate drive. A folder named PFDAVAdmin is created. The files are extracted into the PFDAVAdmin folder.

Step 2: Recover a deleted public folder

1. Move to the PFDAVAdmin folder, and then double-click the PFDAVAdmin.exe file.
2. On the File menu, click Connect.
3. In the Exchange server box, type the name of the Exchange server to which you want to connect.
4. In the Global Catalog box, type the name of the global catalog server.
5. If it is required, click to clear the Authenticate as currently logged-on user check box. Type an appropriate user name, password, and domain in the respective boxes.
6. In the Connection area, click Public Folders, and then click OK.
7. Expand Public Folders, and then click the parent folder of the deleted folder.
8. Right-click the parent folder, and then click Show deleted subfolders. The deleted subfolder is shown in red.
9. Right-click the subfolder, and then click Recover folder.
10. Click OK to acknowledge the Recovery succeeded message. The recovered folder name appears as Folder_Name Recovered.
11. Test access to the folder by using an e-mail client.
12. In Exchange System Manager, right-click the recovered folder, and then rename the folder.

Step 3: Recover a deleted item

1. In PFDAVAdmin, open the folder that contains the deleted item.
2. Click the Items tab, and then click Deleted items.
3. Right-click the item that you want to recover, and then click Recover items.
4. Click OK to acknowledge the Recovering these items message.

The following guided troubleshooting wizard helps you troubleshoot public folder replication problems for Exchange Server 2003.