Restore 1 folder within an Inbox. Impossible???

[Rookcr]

Good day all,

In my understanding of Exchange 5.5 I am about to ask the impossible.

I have a user that says the system lost a folder within their inbox. In my understanding you cannot restore a single mailbox in exchange 5.5. It is all or nothin. So my idea was to try to recreate the server on a different machine, load the exchange on the recreated server then load my exchange data from one of my back up tapes. From there I would export the folder in a PST type format and import it onto our live server. Am I crazy or does this have no shot of working. Any help would be greatky appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Rook

 

[gharr99]

You can restore a single mailbox on a server if you have created a Bricks Level backup of your Exchange server. I use ArcServe to create my Exchange backups...and I have recovered mailboxes several times with no problems.

If you don't have a Bricks Level backup, you will need to restore the Information Store to a separate server. You will need to turn off the production Exchange Server first. Create a new server on a different computer with the SAME NAME as the Exchange server. Then run your restore. You will need to run the Eseutil utility to fix the database after the restore has completed. After successfully logging into Outlook to get your data, export the data to a PST. Then turn off the new server, turn on your production server, and import the PST back in.

It's a lot of work and it isn't easy. But we had to do it here once...after that we made sure we had a Bricks Level backup.

Good luck

 

[Rookcr]

Where would I get this program Arcserve.

 

[Grenage]

Its a bought backup program, Veritas Backup Exec is another good one.

They cost a fair bit but it really is worth the money for the amount of work it will save you.

 

[Marcs41]

Rook, ArcServe is from Symantec but it is a little late now of course.

Marc
[sub]If 'something' 'somewhere' gives 'some' error, expect random guesses or no replies at all. Please specify details.
Free Tip: The F1 Key does NOT destroy your PC![/sub]

 

[Marcs41]

My mistake, posted to fast, had still another in mind.
For the new ArcServe (BrightStor):

http://www3.ca.com/Solutions/Product.asp?ID=3372

 

[Rookcr]

Thank you all. It is a little late and I am going to look into alternatives. Now in my understanding in Exchange 2000 with Active Directory I can restore a single mail box correct??

 

[Sleigher]

Sorry, just had to say, if ArcServ have a product that can restore something you haven't backed up...I WANT IT!

Seriously though, without the brick-level backup, you're dead right with your idea and gharr99's initial suggestion is correct....you might have some probs with computer sids though, not to mention user sids if you try do it outside the domain....erk!

Good luck!

JS

PS: I'd definitely get a decent backup proggie in the meantime though....And I suggest you launch a massive inquest into Microsoft as to why Exchange is deleting people's folders! It's quite a common problem and in fact is generally found to originate somewhere between the chairs and the keyboard of the users desk....

 

[Marcs41]

Rook, yes, in Exchange 2000 is it easier, for details, in case you ever need them, see:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;813337

 

[Rookcr]

Thank you all for your help. I have downloaded a trial version of Veritas Backup Exec 9.0. I want to see if that will hold us over until we move to Exchange 2000.

 

[Sleigher]

We're using backup exec with exchange 2000 - no problems, backing up 80gb's worth of information stores and mailbox backups....something to remember though -

Mailbox backup is ONLY useful for restoring mailboxes....you can't recover from a disaster with only a mailbox backup. Gotta back up your information store too.

What I've also found is, when backing up lots of individual files, it's MUCH slower than backing up the same volume of data in one flat file. Complete information store backup - 1 hour. Same information store but mailbox backups - 12 hours. Same goes for restore except if you're trying to restore your system with a mailbox restore (mebbe your IS backup is a week old but you've got daily mailbox backups) it will take even longer to restore than it takes to backup...

Of course, this just in my environment, mebbe it's screwed

JS