How to Restore Mailboxes From Exchange Database EDB File

Summary: An Exchange mailbox database is a unit of the repository where mailboxes are created and saved. It uses the Exchange database (.edb) file to store the mailbox data. But sometimes, there are many scenarios where users want to restore mailboxes from Exchange databases EDB files such as hardware breakdown, failure of the drive, unexpected power loss, shutdown or crash of the system, etc. It all brings the entire works of businesses to a pause and may lead to commercial loss. In this article, we discuss the working of two best manual ways (“Data Protection Manager (DPM)” and “New-MailboxRestoreRequest cmdlet”) by which you can easily extract data from an EDB file.

What is a Mailbox Database?

The mailbox database is the primary folder of the Exchange server information. It is a type of folder where all the Exchange server data is kept. These days, it is known as a mailbox database. edb, and in the older version of the Exchange server, it is named Priv1.edb. Furthermore, it is all upon you, the name you want to give.

Exchange Server Database Components

This Microsoft Exchange stored all related data in an Exchange Server database and following files too. Some of the crucial Exchange Server database components are:

• Exchange Server Database files or .EDB:- It is a standard file format used by the exchange server to store user mailboxes, public folders, and other crucial data. Exchange offers the maximum compatible size of the file is 1TB(standard Edition) and 16TB(Enterprises Edition).
• .LOG files:- Exchange Server can maintain the set of log files for all the database records of multiple operations like create, modify, delete mailboxes, messages, and changes made on the Exchange server database. It is the mediator between the database and the user’s access.
• Checkpoint files or .CHK:- These types of files store the record of the transaction logs performed to the database file. It also may be helpful for users to recover data from inconsistent databases because of system failure or database corruption.

Why Need to Restore Mailboxes From Exchange Database EDB File?

Here, we mentioned the possible reasons behind the exchange 2013 restore mailbox from recovery databases(.edb) file. Those different causes are:

• There is a chance of accidental or intentional deletion of a complete mailbox database.
• If a user deleted their mailbox and cannot retrieve it within the retention period, they have to restore the exchange database from backup EDB files.
• Sometimes, due to hard disk failure, dismounted databases, virus attacks, etc., one may want to restore the mailbox from an EDB file in Exchange.

These are some main reasons that insist users restore mailboxes from recovery database exchange 2016. Now, let us see the manual method of how to extract mailboxes from EDB files.

Requirements to Perform the Methods:

These are the required things that users must need before initiating the restore mailbox from the recovery database exchange 2010/ 2013 / 2016 process:

1. Log files.
2. Need enough drive space for storing the Exchange server (.edb) file.
3. Exchange Powershell.
4. Set up a Mail server, a mailbox role, mailbox for import, and path for export.

Best Methods to Restore Mailboxes From Exchange Database EDB File

Follow the given below steps of different methods to restore the mailbox from an EDB file in Exchange.

1. Using “Data Protection Manager” (DPM)
2. Using “New-MailboxRestoreRequest” Cmdlet
3. Using Exchange Mailbox Converter Software

Method 1: Restore Mailboxes From EDB File Via Data Protection Manager(DPM)

Data Protection Manager is an efficient and robust ingredient for taking backup of the Mailbox Exchange recovery. It is a reliable application that allows users to backup and recover exchange data without any data loss. In addition, you can also use this to extract or restore the mailbox from the Exchange database(.edb) files. Follow the given below steps to-do-so:

First of all, you have to verify exchange server protection and mailbox database existence. After that, create a new database using the New-MailboxDatabase cmdlet. In case it is not present, then use the Set-MailboxDatabase cmdlet to configure recovery database settings.

Steps to Restore the Mailbox data From EDB files

1. Firstly, go to the DPM Administrator Console and opt with the Recovery view option.
2. Now, select all protected Exchange Data nodes and choose the desired mailbox you want.
3. Then move to the recovery points section and choose the data and recovery point as per the need. Tap on the Recover button to continue.
4. In the recovery wizard, review the chosen recovery and click Next.
5. Opt with the recovery type and press Next.
6. Now, under the specific recovery options, apply the following:
7. Check Mount the database after the recovery gets completed as per your necessity.
8. As per the need, enable or disable Modify Network bandwidth usage throttling.
9. As per the requirement, enable or disable SAN-based recovery using hardware snapshots.
10. Lastly, move to the Notification, specify recipients. Here, select the Send an e-Mail upon recovery completion option and click on it.
11. On the summary page, check and verify the recovery setting again and click on the Close button.

Method 2: Recover MS Exchange Databases Mailboxes Via New-MailboxRestoreRequest “Cmdlet”

Use the New-MailboxRestoreRequest cmdlet to recover deleted or disconnected mailboxes from the Exchange Database EDB files. It can initiate the process of transferring the content from the deleted or disabled mailboxes or any other mailboxes to a secured and safe primary or archive mailbox. Implement the below syntax to restore mailbox from exchange Database EDB file.

New-MailboxRequest –SourceDatabase ‘RDB-CONTROL’ –SourceStoreMailbox ‘mailbox name’ –TargetMailbox @servername.com –TargetRootFolder Recovery -SkipMerging StorageProviderForSource”

By performing the above command successfully, you can restore the mailboxes. After completion, delete and dismount the recovery mailbox database with the help of Windows PowerShell cmdlet,

Remove-MailboxDatabase -Identity ‘RDB-CONTROL’

Why Recovery of Mailboxes from Exchange Database Manually is Not Feasible?

• Prone to Damage the mailbox and maybe misplaced the data.
• Manual method work is very time-consuming.
• Lack of Security and risk of data loss.
• Inconsistency in mailboxes data and might be hierarchy intact.

Method 3: How do I restore an Exchange mailbox Professionally?

With the help of the manual method, you can recover or restore mailboxes from the exchange database EDB file, but it is very lengthy and tricky at the same time. Therefore, it is advisable to opt with EDB to PST Converter and extract data from an EDB file instantly.

The software is a safe and risk-free utility that allows users to back up the data from corrupt Exchange EDB files into PST, EML, MBOX, PDF, MSG, and other file formats. Even the Exchange Mailbox Converter Software offers a feature to restore the Exchange 2016 database to different servers like Office 365 accounts.

Restore Exchange EDB Files Tool- Key Features

• Extract mailbox from EDB file and save into multiple other file formats.
• Supports corrupt or damaged Exchange EDB file for performing the conversion.
• Allows users to perform recovery in different modes like Standard, Advanced and Deep.
• Feature to preview the mailbox of Exchange EDB files data before conversion.
• Save the restored corrupted EDB files data into PST, EML, MBOX, MSG, PDF, TXT, RTF, and HTML file format.
• Import Corrupt EDB files Mailboxes to Office 365 A/C.
• Have an option to handle alignment errors in EDB files.
• Remove duplicate items of the recovered data based on To, From Subject, Created, Modify, and Arrival Date.
• Offer date range feature to save items into selected date range.
• Supports to extract mailboxes from EDB files of different Exchange Server like 5.5, 2000/2003, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, etc.

Steps to Restore Mailboxes From Exchange Database EDB File

Follow the steps to recover or restore mailbox from EDB file using this software:

1. Start the Aryson Software for EDB Recovery and browse the EDB files.
2. Opt with the EDB file version and recover mode if required.
3. Click on the Next button to initiate the recovery process of added EDB files.
4. Now, preview the retrieved data of the EDB file and select the folders to convert.
5. After that, click on the Save button to move for further steps.
6. Opt with the inbuilt features and select the saving format from the Save As options.
7. Here, we choose the Save in PST option and click on the Next button.
8. Create a new Outlook PST file and add in an existing PST file. Click Next.
9. Wait for a while, and all the mailbox data of EDB files get converted into PST files.
10. Finally, click on the Ok button and close the software.

Final Words

Through this blog, you are aware of the best manual and automated methods to restore mailboxes from exchange database EDB files, Select one, and retrieve the corrupted Exchange EDB file with ease. Moreover, to save time and effort, you can use the free version of an expert solution and evaluate the performance.

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