Exchange 5.5 Information Store Restore

[kmcallister]

Hello everyone, here is my problem. An email server running Exchange 5.5 SP4 on Win2K server crashed. The admin went ahead and reinstalled Exchange and created new mailbox for the users. Is there a way to restore the Information Store to a different machine and use some utility to export the old mailboxes. I do not want to mess with the new server settings. The customer have the IS on a DLT tape. They use Veritas 9.0 for backup.

Thanks in advance
KMcAllister

 

[bjwiz]

What's going on? This is my problem too -- exactly!! Now there is two of us looking for help. Thanks.
Bill Jack

 

[Dyadmin]

Messy... that's all I can say..

Have the users export their mail items to a pst file, then
I would say that you re-install overtop the users mailboxes on the server, then re-import the messages.

It's a messy scenario but it would work. I'm not sure if the mailboxes would be restored and appended to the existing information store.

 

[Zelandakh]

use a DR box and restore the store. Then exmerge.

Whoever did that needs shooting.

<signature sold. new owner moving in shortly>

 

[zbnet]

http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/techinfo/administration/55/backuprestore.asp

is the standard reference text for these situations - no one should be restoring Exchange in DR situations without reading this first...

 

[kmcallister]

OK lets say I setup a new server with the same name as the existing exchange server then I reinstall exchange using the Org and site name as the original exchange server. Will this cause a problem with the SID info in Active Directory? Since the current server is a domain member. Because if there are no adverse effect to this I can do the reinstall on a new server, run the restore and utilities, then use exmerge to pull the old mailboxes to pst files, fireup the old server and reimport the pst into the current and new mailbox.

 

[bjwiz]

I've started building a DR box but figured if I wanted it off-network it had to be at least Win2k to handle a 3.5gb private store and had to have active directory to make sure it was the domain controller. I named it the same as the production server. I'm installing Exchange on it now; will restore the old databases then try to get it to run. I plan to use exmerge or even manually break it into .pst files if it runs. If I'm going down a deadend trail I'd appreciate the warning.

 

[Alshrim]

kmcallister: - the short answer is no! You need to do all of this as a standard restoration procedure - ISINTEG /patch will fetch the proper GuID's for the new machine - and apply them to your IS and DS so that everything Jives - AFTER you've done a full restore.

here's my faq on it: faq10-2775



Alshrim
System Administrator
MCSE, MCP+Internet