In Exchange 2000 and
Exchange Server 2003, if you delete a mailbox, it is disconnected for a
default period of 30 days (the mailbox retention period), and you can
reconnect it at any point during that time. Deleting a mailbox does not mean
that it is permanently deleted (or purged) from the information store
database right away, only that it is flagged for deletion. At the end of the
mailbox retention period, the mailbox is permanently deleted from the
database. You can also permanently delete the mailbox by choosing to purge
it at any time.
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This also means that if you mistakenly delete a mail-enabled user
account, you can recreate that user object, and then reconnect that mailbox
during the mailbox retention period. You should configure the deleted mailbox retention period at the mailbox
store object level.
Note: This tip is only useful for mailboxes
that have been deleted but are still available
in the Exchange database. Purged mailboxes will
need to be restored by use of the different
process, depending on your Exchange server
version:
I
will add some pages on the above topics later
this month. In the meantime let's assume that
the mailbox is indeed retained in the mailbox
store.
To Delete a Mailbox in Exchange 2000/2003:
-
Right-click the user in Active Directory Users and Computers.
-
Click Exchange Tasks.
-
Click Next on the Welcome page of the Exchange Task Wizard.
-
Click Delete Mailbox.
-
Click Next, click Next, and then click Finish. The mailbox is now
flagged for deletion and will be permanently deleted at the end of the
mailbox retention period unless you recover it.
To Reconnect (or Recover) a Deleted Mailbox:
-
In Exchange System Manager, locate the mailbox store that contains the
disconnected mailbox.
-
Click the Mailboxes object under the mailbox store.
-
If the mailbox is not already marked as disconnected (the mailbox icon
appears with a red X), right-click the Mailboxes object, and then click
Cleanup Agent.
-
Right-click the disconnected mailbox, and then click Reconnect. Pick
the appropriate user from the dialog box that appears.
-
Click OK. Now you see that the old mailbox is
no longer listed under the name of the old user. Instead it has the name
of the user it was reconnected to.
Note: Only one user may be connected to a mailbox because all globally
unique identifiers (GUIDs) are required to be unique across an entire
forest.
To Configure the Mailbox Retention Period:
-
Right-click the mailbox store, and then click Properties.
-
On the Limits tab, change the Keep deleted mailboxes for (days)
default setting of 30 to the number of days you want.
-
Click OK.
Related articles
You might also want to read the
following related articles:
Links
How to Recover a Deleted Mailbox in Exchange 2000 - 274343
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