Exchange databases or EDB files store a significant amount of user account data, such as emails, contacts, calendars, etc. It is a bit challenging for users to manage, and sometimes the file gets corrupted or is inaccessible. So, users need to recover Exchange database files to get rid of corruption issues from the EDB. Well, this process looks challenging and tricky but can become as easy as a cakewalk by using the solutions that will share in this blog.
Users will get two different practices here to recover Exchange database mailboxes. Also, we will provide users with a reliable tool to recover the Exchange database without log files as well. Let’s begin this discussion by understanding a few common reasons why Exchange database recovery is essential.
Why do users look over recovering the Exchange EDB?
Users need to recover Exchange mailbox data for various reasons. The section below will explain to users a few of the causes behind delving into the Exchange server database recovery process.
- If the file is corrupted and the data becomes inaccessible, users need to recover Exchange database mailboxes.
- Moreover, the reason can be accidental data loss, and users need to regain all their lost data. In that case, users need to recover Exchange EDB files.
- Sometimes, users must take this action if the Exchange Server crashes and the essential emails are deleted or inaccessible.
- When facing issues like dirty shutdown or mounting problems, users must recover the Exchange database.
Along with these reasons, the users may have more causes for recovering the Exchange database mailboxes. Now that you have successfully understood the reasons let us talk about the solutions that can help users recover Exchange database files.
Some possible ways to recover Exchange EDB file mailboxes
Depending on the scenario, users can utilize three solutions to recover Exchange database mailboxes. Actually, there are two manual approaches that users can apply to recover Exchange mailboxes from corruption or data loss. These approaches depend on two conditions: when users want to recover EDB with log files or when recovering EDB without log files.
Here, we will describe both tricks to you and ease your Exchange database recovery process. Beyond manual solutions, this blog will also share a professional third-party Exchange server database recovery software.
1. Recover Exchange database with Log Files
Users can perform the Exchange database mailbox recovery task using their previous data backup log files. So, you must first ensure that the earlier data backup log files are still in your system. If so, please go through the stepwise procedure below to recover the Exchange Server database. This manual way allows users to recover the Exchange database for free without
- The first step is to open the Exchange Management Shell on your system.
- Then, create a recovery database using the command below.
New-MailboxDatabase -Name "RecoveryDB" -EdbFilePath "D:\RecoveryDB\RecoveryDB.edb" -LogFolderPath "D:\RecoveryDB\Logs"- Use the Eseutil utility to process the soft recovery for the database.
eseutil /r E00 /d "D:\RecoveryDB" /i- /r for database soft recovery with log files.
- E00 is the prefix of the log file that can change on the basis of how your Exchange Server is set up.
- /d is the location of the database where it is saved.
- /i to avoid minor issues while performing the recovery process.
- When you are done with the database recovery task, kindly mount the recovered database using the following command.
Mount-Database "RecoveryDB"- Now, run the command below if you need to restore mailbox data from the recovery database.
New-MailboxRestoreRequest -SourceDatabase "RecoveryDB" -TargetMailbox "TargetMailbox"- Apply the following command to dismount the Exchange database to prevent other changes.
Dismount-Database "RecoveryDB"It will help if you follow the above steps to recover the Exchange mailbox from the database when log files are present. We will go to another solution when you do not have the log files from the previous database backup.
2. Recover the Exchange mailbox from the database without log files
If you don’t have a backup of your Exchange database, which is corrupted or has missing items, you can process the Eseutil hard recovery. Kindly note that you may lose essential data while performing this solution, as you are recovering the database without log files.
- Type the below PowerShell command to fix the database whose items are missing or corrupted.
eseutil /p "D:\ExchangeDB\MailboxDB.edb"- /p is used to remove corruption from the database.
- Type the actual path of your Exchange database instead of “D:\ExchangeDB\MailboxDB.edb.”
- When the Exchange database repairing task is completed, mount the Exchange database using the command below.
Mount-Database "MailboxDB"- Lastly, restore the missing items or mailbox if the hard recovery process works for your Exchange database.
Limitations of Recovering Database Manually
Users can apply manual methods for free, but they have to compromise with a lot of things when recovering Exchange database mailboxes. Let us examine a few common drawbacks of manual techniques.
- These methods can take a long time to recover Exchange 2013 or 2016 databases completely.
- Moreover, there is a high chance that users may lose their data permanently while using manual methods to recover Exchange EDB files.
- Users need good technical knowledge to perform the manual steps to recover Exchange Server database files.
- After the recovery, there is no guarantee that the manual method would recover the data along with its originality.
The manual ways are not the ideal preference for users to recover Exchange database mailboxes. Therefore, users can go through the upcoming section where we have shared a professional third-party tool to recover Exchange Server database files quickly.
A Secure and Reliable Way to Recover Exchange Database
Professionals run far away from manual methods and prefer automated solutions, as manual methods are risky and take too much time. So, we have come up with the Weeom Exchange Recovery Manager, which is an astounding solution and offers a variety of features. This software has no restrictions on processing multiple EDB files and their size. It effectively recovers entire data from the EDB files and saves them into the PST format.
Highlighted features of this Exchange database recovery tool
- This software effectively recovers entire data from the damaged Exchange database files, including emails, contacts, calendars, tasks, etc.
- It also offers a filter option that users can use to select only the desired mailboxes from the database to recover.
- Along with the PST, users can also save the data they have recovered from their EDB files in EML, MSG, HTML, RTF, and other file formats.
- This can efficiently recover Exchange 2013, 2016 and 2019 database files without a single issue.
- It retains the folder hierarchy and metaproperties of the emails when recovering the Exchange EDB files.
- Users also have the option to choose only desired items from the mailboxes using its filter option.
- It also offers an incremental export option, which is responsible for resuming the process and preventing duplicate items in the target.
Quick steps to recover Exchange database files
Step 1: Download and install Weeom Exchange Recovery Manager.
Step 2: Add the Exchange EDB file that you want to recover.
Step3: Choose the Outlook PST option, check or uncheck subfolders and select the option to save recovered EDB to existing or new PST.
Step 4: Apply filters and other options as per your requirements.
Step 5: Review settings and start the Exchange database recovery task.
It’s time to Wrap UP!
This post shared two manual ways that users can recover Exchange database files when log files are missing or present. These methods are not suggested for an effortless and accurate recovery of the Exchange Server database mailboxes. Fortunately, powerful solutions, like the Weeom Exchange Recovery Manager, are available to make this process seamless. Users can also try its free demo version in their system to better understand this EDB recovery tool’s features and functionality. With its free version, users will be permitted to process the first 50 items from each folder of the EDB files.