Recover mailbox data from an Exchange server crash

How to recover data from an Exchange server crash?

To recover from an Exchange server crash, you can repair the EDB file with the command line tool Eseutil (Extensible Storage Engine) or you can use a Microsoft partnered Exchange recovery tool, such as EdbMails, to completely recover and convert the the EDB file to PST without data loss.

Steps to recover from Exchange server crash and restore the EDB file

Before starting the recovery process, make sure you have a complete backup copy of the unmounted and corrupted Exchange database. Exchange and IT administrators frequently use Eseutil as a first line of recovery, diagnosing problems with the Exchange server or defragmenting the database to keep it in good health. Start Eseutil, which is installed and located in the application directory of the Exchange server. For instance, in Exchange 2013 and 2016, Eseutil is located in the following path.

C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Bin.

• Step 1: Launch the Eseutil tool from the Exchange server bin directory.

  Run the cmdlet eseutil/mh to verify the status of the database for Clean or Dirty Shutdown.

• Step 2: Remount the database

  If the state shows Clean Shutdown state, you can safely remount the database. Run the cmdlet Mount-Database -Identity (Database_name.edb) to mount the database to the Exchange server.

• Step 3: Perform a soft recovery if remounting fails

  If the remounting of the database fails, then your Exchange server is likely corrupted due to missing log files. If you have the transaction log files, copy them to the database folder and run the cmdlet eseutil/r to perform soft recovery. This operation replays the log files to the database and restores it to the last healthy state.

• Step 4: Perform a hard recovery if the database is corrupted

  If the database fails to recover even after the soft recovery, then your database is severely corrupted. Run eseutil/p to perform hard recovery and remember that eseutil deletes the data permanently from the database that it fails to recover. This method may result in data loss.

• Step 5: Defragment the database and perform an integrity check

  After the hard recovery, defragment the database files by executing the cmdlet ,'eseutil/d'. Finally, perform an integrity check by using IsInteg or New-MailboxRepairRequest and executing 'eseutil/g'.Mount the database to the Exchange server.

There are a few key points to note in the preceding steps. The first point is that the soft recovery procedure from Eseutil restores the database state to Clean Shutdown if the transaction log files are available. If the database log files are permanently lost or deleted, the only option is to perform a hard recovery, which may result in a data loss. The soft recovery operation fails in cases of logical errors or severe database corruption. Both the hard and soft recovery methods rely on PowerShell commands that require technical knowledge and expertise.

You can also restore the Exchange server from the last healthy backup. However, if the backup is not recent, you will lose all emails from the last backup upto the point the Exchange server crashed. As a result, the best solution is to use a specialized software, such as EdbMails, to recover all of your mailbox data instantly from an offline EDB file without relying on an Exchange server.

Recover mailbox data from server crash in Exchange 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010 and 2007

EdbMails Exchange recovery software is capable of recovering mailbox data from a crashed Exchange server 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, and 2007. You can select and convert an offline, corrupted, damaged, or inaccessible EDB file to PST with no prior backups required. The benefit of EdbMails over manual methods is that the application can recover deep and severe Exchange database corruptions without causing data loss.

Furthermore, EdbMails does not corrupt existing data because it simply copies from the source EDB file to the target without changing the former. You can export EDB to PST or migrate it to another on-premises or live Exchange server.

Key features of EdbMails Exchange recovery software

1. The software is compatible with all Windows Server and Windows OS
2. Recovers offline EDB files without the need for an Exchange server
3. Can recover EDB files from any crashed Exchange server (2003, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019)
4. Does not alter or modify the existing data from the Exchange EDB
5. Maintains one-to-one data formatting and folder hierarchy during export or migration
6. Granular brick-level recovery and export feature enables you to select specific data instead of the complete mailboxes
7. A graphical and user-friendly interface for recovery, export and migration
8. Can recover and convert both EDB and STM files including priv.edb and pub.edb
9. Direct migration from EDB file to Live Exchange and Office 365 (Microsoft 365)

Steps to recover from an Exchange server crash by using EdbMails

• Step 1: Install the EdbMails Exchange recovery program.

  Install EdbMails on any computer. You can also recover your crashed Exchange server by installing EdbMails on a machine that does not have an Exchange server. (EdbMails works without Exchange server dependency).

  

  Open the EdbMails application and select 'Login' or 'Start Your Free Trial'.

  

  Select the recovery operation as 'EDB to PST. EDB to Office 365. EDB to Exchange'

  

  To recover an Exchange server that has crashed, see EdbMails system requirements. To recover and export Exchange mailboxes to PST, make sure that Microsoft Outlook is installed on your computer.

• Step 2: Select the offline EDB file from the crashed Exchange server.

  In EdbMails, browse the Exchange EDB file that you want to recover and convert to PST. In order to preview individual mail items, EdbMails displays all of your mailboxes after recovering the EDB file.

  

• Step 3: Choose the mailboxes you want to export to PST.

  Expand the mailbox and click on the folders to see the items inside of them in order to access the mailbox's data. The application displays each item found in that folder. View the email's details, including the subject, email body, sent dates, from and to addresses, and more, by clicking on each item of correspondence.

  To export the contents of the mailboxes, folders, and mailbox items to a PST file, select them and click 'Export to Outlook PST.' If you want to directly migrate the recovered mailboxes to an on-premises, Hosted or a Live Exchange server, click 'Migrate to Live Exchange'

  

  You can use the advanced filter settings to select only emails based on Date, Subject, Attachment, and so on. The 'Exclude Standard / Custom Folders' option allows you to exclude certain folders from the export operation, such as Junk and Conversation History. Other features of EdbMails include the ability to split a PST file during the export process and exclude emails whose size exceeds a predefined limit.

  

• Step 4: Check the mailboxes create a label for the export job

  After selecting the mailboxes and folders, you can verify them for export and give the task a name for future reference. This activity allows you to save the same settings for future migrations.

  

• Step 5: Set the output file location and begin the EDB to PST export.

  Browse the location on your computer to ensure that you have enough disc space to save the PST file. Finally, begin the EDB file to PST export operation. You can pause and resume the operation, and you can find the export details under View Log.

  

To restore all of your mailboxes and mail items from the EDB, import the PST file into Outlook. Add the domain name and configure the MX records to point to the new server if you have migrated to an Exchange server.

Unlike the manual method from Eseutil, the migration and export operation with EdbMails does not result in downtime or data loss. EdbMails also does not require Exchange server log files for database recovery and includes built-in filter settings for exporting and migrating specific folders, emails, and mail items.