Exchange Server Recovery
Exchange Server failures can strike unexpectedly—whether due to hardware damage, a corrupt operating system, or database mounting issues. When the server becomes unbootable or the EDB file is dismounted, mailbox data remains trapped and inaccessible. In these critical moments, recovering the offline EDB file becomes essential to restore user access and maintain operational continuity.
EdbMails provides a direct and efficient solution to handle such recovery scenarios. It allows you to open and extract data from offline or corrupted EDB files without needing to connect to a live Exchange Server. This eliminates the risks of manual intervention and ensures that mailboxes—complete with emails, calendars, contacts, and other data—can be recovered even when the original server environment is no longer functional.
This guide walks you through the entire process in a clear, step-by-step manner. From selecting your offline EDB file to exporting mailboxes into PST or directly migrating them, each step is designed to simplify recovery while preserving data integrity. Whether you're addressing a full server crash or tackling isolated EDB issues, this approach ensures you stay in control of your Exchange data.
Prerequisites for your Exchange Server Recovery operation:
Step 1: Reset the computer account using the Windows interface
- To open Active Directory Users and Computers: go to Start > Control Panel > double-click Administrative Tools, then double-click Active Directory Users and Computers.
- In the console tree, click Computers.
- In the details pane, right-click the computer, and then click Reset Account.
- After installing the OS on the new server, give it the same name as that of the lost server.
- Add the server to the domain of the lost server.
- Install all the prerequisites for Exchange Server 2016.
- After logging into the Exchange Server, open the Command Prompt and run the following command:
Command: Copy & Paste it on EMS
Setup /m:RecoverServer /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms
- Finally, configure the server as per your requirements and restart.
- To verify the recovery, open the Windows Services tool and check if the Microsoft Exchange Server services are running.
Step 2: Recover a DAG member server
- To open Active Directory Users and Computers, go to Start > Control Panel > double-click Administrative Tools, and double-click Active Directory Users and Computers.
- To check the replay lag or truncation lag settings for any mailbox database copies on the recovering server, run the Get-MailboxDatabase cmdlet:
Command: Copy & Paste it on EMS
Get-MailboxDatabase DB1 | Format-List *lag*
- Remove any mailbox database copies that exist on the server being recovered by using the Remove-MailboxDatabaseCopy cmdlet:
Command: Copy & Paste it on EMS
Remove-MailboxDatabaseCopy DB1\MBX1
- Remove the failed server's configuration from the DAG by using the Remove-DatabaseAvailabilityGroupServer cmdlet:
Command: Copy & Paste it on EMS
Remove-DatabaseAvailabilityGroupServer -Identity DAG1 -MailboxServer MBX1
- Reset the server's computer account in Active Directory. For detailed instructions, refer to the 'Reset a Computer Account' guide.
- Open a Command Prompt window. Using the original Setup media, run the following command:
Command: Copy & Paste it on EMS
Setup /m:RecoverServer
- When the Setup recovery process is complete, add the recovered server to the DAG by using the Add-DatabaseAvailabilityGroupServer cmdlet:
Command: Copy & Paste it on EMS
Add-DatabaseAvailabilityGroupServer -Identity DAG1 -MailboxServer MBX1
- To know the status of the retrieved DAG server, use the following command –
Command: Copy & Paste it on EMS
Get-MailboxDatabaseCopyStatus -Server < MyExchangeDatabase >
Step 3: Recover data from Offline EDB files and restore on your Live Exchange server
Now use EdbMails to recover the lost Exchange server mailboxes using an offline EDB file. Also, migrate mailboxes directly to your new Live Exchange server / Office 365 using EdbMails.
Click here for the detailed Steps to export EDB file to PST file
Click here for the detailed Steps to migrate EDB mailboxes to New Exchange Server
Click here for the detailed Steps to migrate EDB mailboxes to Office 365
