In this post I will demonstrate how to use Windows Server Backup to backup and restore a mailbox database for Exchange Server 2010.

There are three parts to this tutorial:

The server I am using is running Windows Server 2008 R2 and has Exchange Server 2010 installed with the Mailbox server role.  A single mailbox database has been configured, and one mailbox exists in the database.

Watch the video here or scroll down for the complete step by step process.

Installing Windows Server Backup on Windows Server 2008 R2


Windows Server Backup is not installed by default, so the first step here is to install it.  Open an elevated Powershell session and run the following commands.

PS C:\> Import-Module servermanager
PS C:\> Add-WindowsFeature backup

Windows Server Backup can now be launched from the Administrative Tools menu.

Windows Server Backup
The Windows Server Backup console

Backing Up an Exchange 2010 Mailbox Database

If the server that will run the backup is a DAG member and you are using Windows Server Backup there is a registry change required first. See Windows Server Backup Completed with Warnings for Exchange 2010 Mailbox Server.

From the Windows Server Backup window click on Backup Once.

Start a Windows Server Backup of Exchange 2010
Start a Windows Server Backup of Exchange 2010

There is no existing scheduled backup on this server, so Different Options is the only selection.  Click Next to continue.

Choose whether to use existing backup options on the server
Choose whether to use existing backup options on the server

At the next step I’m choosing a Custom configuration so that I can look closer at the volumes to be backed up.  Click Next to continue.

Choose a Custom backup in Windows Server Backup
Choose a Custom backup in Windows Server Backup

Now it is time to select the volumes to be backed up.  For an Exchange Server 2010 mailbox database backup we need to choose any volumes that have Exchange database or log files on them.  The entire volume needs to be backed up, not just the folder holding those files.

Click the Add Items button to open the selections dialog.

In this case the mailbox database is on volume D:, while the transaction logs are on volume C:, so both volumes are selected.  Click OK to close the dialog.

Select the volumes containing Exchange application files
Select the volumes containing Exchange application files

Next click the Advanced Settings button.

Before starting the Exchange 2010 mailbox database backup some advanced settings are needed
Before starting the Exchange 2010 mailbox database backup some advanced settings are needed

Select the VSS Settings tab and make sure that VSS full backup is chosen.  Click OK and then Next to continue.

Choose VSS Full Backup for Exchange 2010 mailbox database backups
Choose VSS Full Backup for Exchange 2010 mailbox database backups

The backup can be stored on either a local drive or a remote network share.  In this demonstration I’m backing up to a local drive.

Choose to backup Exchange to a local drive or remote network share
Choose to backup Exchange to a local drive or remote network share

Select the volume to back up the Exchange 2010 mailbox database to.  You can’t choose a volume that is part of the backup selections list.  Click Next to continue.

Choose the volume to back up Exchange 2010 to
Choose the volume to back up Exchange 2010 to

When you are happy with your selections click Backup to start the backup.

Start the Exchange 2010 mailbox database backup
Start the Exchange 2010 mailbox database backup

The time taken to backup will depend on the size of your mailbox database.

Running an Exchange Server 2010 Mailbox Database Backup
Running an Exchange Server 2010 Mailbox Database Backup

When the backup is complete click the Close button.

Exchange 2010 Mailbox Database backup is complete
Exchange 2010 Mailbox Database backup is complete

Verify that the backup was successful.  You can also click the View Details link to see more information.

Exchange 2010 Mailbox Database backup result
Exchange 2010 Mailbox Database backup result

Restoring an Exchange Server 2010 Mailbox Database


For this demonstration the mailbox database has been dismounted and the database file deleted.  The Exchange server is unable to mount the database due to the missing file.

Unable to mount Exchange 2010 Mailbox Database due to missing file
Unable to mount Exchange 2010 Mailbox Database due to missing file

The mailbox database needs to be recovered from the previous good backup.  But first we need to mark the mailbox database as restorable.  In the Exchange Management Console open the properties of the mailbox database.

Open the Mailbox Database properties
Open the Mailbox Database properties

Select the Maintenance tab and tick the box This database can be overwritten by a restore.

Enable the Exchange 2010 mailbox database to be overwritten by a restore
Enable the Exchange 2010 mailbox database to be overwritten by a restore

You can also use the Exchange Management Shell to perform this task.

[PS] C:\>Set-MailboxDatabase "Mailbox Database EX2 01" -AllowFileRestore $true

In Windows Server Backup click on Recover to start the Recovery Wizard.

Start the Windows Server Backup Recovery Wizard
Start the Windows Server Backup Recovery Wizard

The previous backup is stored on the local server in this case.  Click Next to continue.

Choose the backup location to restore the Exchange 2010 Mailbox Database from
Choose the backup location to restore the Exchange 2010 Mailbox Database from

A calendar is displayed with all of the dates that backups occurred on highlighted in bold.  If more than one backup was taken on that date then there are multiple entries in the drop down list.  Choose the backup that you want to restore from, usually the most recent one.  Click Next to continue.

Select the backup date to restore the Exchange 2010 Mailbox Database from
Select the backup date to restore the Exchange 2010 Mailbox Database from

The recovery type for an Exchange 2010 mailbox database restore is Application.  Select the recovery type and click Next to continue.

Choose the Application recovery type for Exchange 2010 Mailbox Database recovery
Choose the Application recovery type for Exchange 2010 Mailbox Database recovery

Windows Server Backup detects the type of application that was backed up and shows you a list.  Because this is the most recent Exchange server backup it also offers the option to not roll forward the database once the restore has been completed.  This means that the transaction logs that were written on the server since the time of the backup will be replayed into the restored database, bringing it completely up to date.

If you don’t want to roll the database forward (ie you are trying to recover the database to a specific point in time) then tick the box.  Otherwise click Next to continue.

Choose the application to restore and whether to roll the Exchange database forward
Choose the application to restore and whether to roll the Exchange database forward

In this example we’re recovering a lost database, so we will be restoring it to the original location.  If you do not want to overwrite an existing database you can choose to restore to an alternate location instead.  Click Next to continue.

Choose to recover the Exchange 2010 Mailbox Database to its original location or an alternate location
Choose to recover the Exchange 2010 Mailbox Database to its original location or an alternate location

When you’re ready to proceed click Restore to begin the recovery.

Begin the Exchange 2010 Mailbox Database restore
Begin the Exchange 2010 Mailbox Database restore

The restore time will depend on the size of the mailbox database being recovered.  When the restore is complete click on Close.

Exchange 2010 Mailbox Database restore complete
Exchange 2010 Mailbox Database restore complete

In the Application Event Log of the server we can see the recovery operation has taken place.

First the restore is begun:

Log Name:      Application
Source:        MSExchangeIS
Date:          12/4/2010 8:51:30 PM
Event ID:      9725
Task Category: Exchange VSS Writer
Level:         Information
Keywords:      Classic
User:          N/A
Computer:      EX2.exchangeserverpro.local
Description:
Exchange VSS Writer will restore a backup set to database 'Mailbox Database EX2 01', which is the same database from which the backup was originally taken.

Then the restore is completed successfully:

Log Name:      Application
Source:        MSExchangeIS
Date:          12/4/2010 8:51:40 PM
Event ID:      9756
Task Category: Exchange VSS Writer
Level:         Information
Keywords:      Classic
User:          N/A
Computer:      EX2.exchangeserverpro.local
Description:
Exchange VSS Writer successfully restored the backup set to database 'Mailbox Database EX2 01'. To bring the restored databases to a clean-shutdown state, database recovery will be performed using the information in the restore environment document 'C:Program FilesMicrosoftExchange ServerV14MailboxMailbox Database EX2 01E00restore.env'.

The existing transaction log files are then replayed into the database to roll it forward:

Log Name:      Application
Source:        ESE
Date:          12/4/2010 8:52:15 PM
Event ID:      301
Task Category: Logging/Recovery
Level:         Information
Keywords:      Classic
User:          N/A
Computer:      EX2.exchangeserverpro.local
Description:
Information Store (2608) Mailbox Database EX2 01: The database engine has begun replaying logfile C:Program FilesMicrosoftExchange ServerV14MailboxMailbox Database EX2 01E000000004D.log.

And finally the mailbox database is mounted:

Log Name:      Application
Source:        MSExchangeIS Mailbox Store
Date:          12/4/2010 8:52:32 PM
Event ID:      9523
Task Category: General
Level:         Information
Keywords:      Classic
User:          N/A
Computer:      EX2.exchangeserverpro.local
Description:
The Microsoft Exchange Database "Mailbox Database EX2 01" has been started. 

Database File: D:Program FilesMicrosoftExchange ServerV14MailboxMailbox Database EX2 01Mailbox Database EX2 01.edb
Transaction Logfiles: C:Program FilesMicrosoftExchange ServerV14MailboxMailbox Database EX2 01
Base Name (logfile prefix): E00
System Path: C:Program FilesMicrosoftExchange ServerV14MailboxMailbox Database EX2 01
(Start Duration=00:00:03.032)

The mailbox database has now been recovered.

About the Author

Paul Cunningham

Paul is a former Microsoft MVP for Office Apps and Services. He works as a consultant, writer, and trainer specializing in Office 365 and Exchange Server. Paul no longer writes for Practical365.com.

Comments

  1. Georgia Jaeger

    Thanks for the posting, very helpful as I am troubleshooting my environment.

  2. Bill

    Hi Paul,
    Great article. There’s just a couple murky areas about which I’d like to get more clear before I continue moving a bunch of large mailboxes.
    * 2 Databases, 1 Volume
    If there were more than one database on a volume, I wouldn’t be able to drill down any farther into a backup than the volume so as to restore a single Exchange database, is that correct?
    I believe another poster suggested an alternative to drilling down to one of multiple databases during a restore but I wasn’t sure if they were right; so, if 2 databases on 1 volume were backed up but only one of the databases was made restorable, could the restore run (restoring one and leaving the other as is)?
    * Separate Volumes
    If I backup the volumes for the edb and logs of the 1st of 2 mailbox databases where the 2nd database and logs are on a separate volume, then if I restore from that backup, the 2nd database could remain mounted, correct?
    * Restoring after Moving edb
    Last, suppose I backup a database for which the edb and the logs are on separate volumes; after which I move the edb to the logs’ volume (or the reverse). If something didn’t look right about the move and I wanted to restore to the backup, then I should delete the edb and logs where I’d moved them, then restore as per your excellent article, correct?

    1. Avatar photo
      Paul Cunningham

      Backup and restore is the entire volume. If other databases are on the same volume they’ll also be restored. Their log files will be used to bring them back up to date, theoretically without data loss, but all restores carry risks. This is a downside of using Windows Server Backup when multiple databases are on the same volume.

      Database on other volumes that are not being restored are unaffected by the restore.

      No you should not delete the files and restore them from backup hoping for the best. That’s a recipe for disaster. If you don’t like where they are, move them back using the correct procedure. Or instead of doing an entire db/logs move, which is disruptive to end users, create a new databases and move mailboxes instead.

      You would greatly improve your level of comfort and familiarity with the use of Windows Server Backup for Exchange by building a test server and running through scenarios first hand.

  3. Lucky Nicolaidis

    Hi Paul,

    Thanks for the heads up.

    Application “exchange ” is no longer grayed out when running a recovery using windows server backup. As you stated the entire volume needs to be backed and I was selecting just database and logfile location.

    As for the get-mailbox command i was using the entire database name by tacking .edb on the end of the database file name and it was failing

    1. Avatar photo
      Paul Cunningham

      Yeah that doesn’t work. The command you showed above will just return everything, it’s like running Get-Mailbox on its own.

      If you want to list mailboxes for a database, this is an example of what to use:

      Get-Mailbox -Database “DB01”

      Not “DB01.edb” or anything else like that.

  4. Lucky Nicolaidis

    Hi Paul,

    I havent deleted the corrupt database as yet. Its in a dismounted state but yet if you run get-mailboxdatabase against it , it shows all the user mailboxes.

    This is the command i run ; >Get-Mailbox | Sort database, ” Mailbox Database 1031552527.edb” | Format-Table name, ” Mailbox Database 1031552527.edb”

    If i display mailboxes through EMC it shows all users on correct database.
    Pity i cannot attach a list of both get-mailboxdatabase

    I am backing entire volume where the database resides but am concerned that there is still some connection to the “old” database and the volume that this database sits on.

    I have a suspicion about the grayed out exchange application . The original exchange database was on E: drive . New database is on H: drive.

    Perhaps i should move the entire contents of E: drive to another drive , then move the working database to the E: drive.

    1. Avatar photo
      Paul Cunningham

      That command will just return all mailboxes in the organization. If you want to use Get-Mailbox to return mailboxes for a specific database, you need to use the -Database parameter.

  5. Lucky Nicolaidis

    Hi Paul,
    I had a corrupt log in my only database file on exchange 2010 latest build and update.

    I managed to create new database and move all mailboxes to the new database , including the arbitration mailboxes. I then cleared the move requests after confirming that all mailboxes reside on the new database.

    My problem is that when i backup the new database and check the restore , the application “exchange” is grayed out. If i run get-mailboxdatabase on old database it shows all my user mailboxes on the old database .

    Any ideas ?

    1. Avatar photo
      Paul Cunningham

      For the backup question, you need to back up the entire volume to be able to do an Exchange application restore.

      For the other question, I don’t understand how Get-MailboxDatabase is returning any user mailboxes.

  6. Ricardo

    Hi Paul,
    I restored an Exchange 2010 database from a DPM backup in Azure into an external location. How can I mount the restore database on my Exchange 2010 servers? Is that possible?

    Thank you,
    Ricardo

  7. Manu

    Hi Paul,

    If restore the information store and log files to an earlier date will I lose the new emails which already came to outlook?

    Exchange 2016 on a hyper VM
    Outlook 2016

    Greatly appreciate your assistance!!!

  8. Shane

    Hi Paul
    As always, great article. Always easy to follow.
    My Exch07 server froze today. It corrupted the 2 databases in one SG, or maybe it corrupted the SG. Neither DB will mount. The other DBs in other SGs are fine.
    I ran a restore using Windows Server Backup (include roll forward). During the restore process it immediately fails on that storage group with status “Restore of components ended before completing” 0 KB of 0 KB. The other SGs finish without problems, and mount.
    How can I force it to restore that SG?
    I tried deleting the edb files, and rerun. it fails the same way.
    Next I guess I’ll delete the log files and rerun.
    what could be blocking it?
    Any ideas?
    Thanks

  9. Azizgul

    Hi Paul,

    one of our employ left our company one year ago and he deleted all email from inbox and sent item.
    his mailbox was on exchange 2010 but we migrate exchange 2010 to exchange 2013.

    we use windows server backup to create backup.
    can i restore mailbox exchange 2010 on exchange 2013?

    how can restore all email item of that man on exchange 2013 with backup exchange 2010?

    thank you very much

    1. Avatar photo
      Paul Cunningham

      No, you can’t restore a database from a different version of Exchange. You’ll need to build a temporary Exchange 2010 server and use that for your recovery.

  10. Zortrax

    I need to test disaster recovery in my enviroment, but my mbx server is a physical machine with 24 procs and 64Gb of memory. Can I restore it to a diferent hardware (vm) with fewer procs and memory?

  11. Linda

    I have three virtual machines with CAS, HT and MB roles. WSB has been working great. Suddenly, one of the servers will only do an incremental on the MB volume. I’ve cleared backup log files, formatted the external drive that the backups are going to, Here is an error I’m getting in my event log. This is a server with passive copies with the exception of Public Folders which is empty (we still have one legacy 2003 server). Yes-I will be getting rid of that soon. 🙂

    The Microsoft Exchange Replication service VSS Writer (Instance 574b6d2c-b48a-4da5-9346-e9b09e25009e) failed with error FFFFFFFC when processing the backup completion event.

    Any ideas? Plenty of disk space.

  12. Anthony Maw

    Having built my test lab Exchange 2010 on Windows Server 2008 R2 on cheap recycled PC hardware – to deliberately get various modes of hardware failure to practice with – and experienced multiple hard drive failures (first thing I noticed was that the backups were failing in one case and previosly the server was freezing -hard reboot “please insert bootable media” BIOS message LOL), I can say that this procedure works exceedingly well and is faster and simpler than using third-party backup and restore solutions since Windows Backup is built-in to Windows Server. The only caveat is that the bare metal recovery requires restoring the OS partition to a physical disk drive that is the same or bigger capacity, even if the OS partition was smaller you cannot restore to a smaller capacity drive.

  13. FlibbidyFlobbdyFloo

    What if you don’t have a separate exchange data partition? Where are the databases stored?

  14. Franck

    Hi Paul,

    good job first.
    While I am backing up my Exchange 2010 mailbox database, Windows server backup is still on the following stage after 15 hours: “checking of the coherence for the exchange application” (sorry for approximative translation). The process on my server which is running is eseutil.exe. Could you tell me why ?

    Thanks,
    Franck

  15. Kevin

    Hi Paul, I posted questions yesterday that was awaiting moderator approval. Now it is gone. Was it denied? I just want to know if I can run WSB from within Exchange 2010 on Hyper-V.
    Thanks, Kevin

  16. Kevin

    Hi Paul,

    We have Win Server 2008r2, with Exchange 2010 on Hyper V. I’m not clear if we can back up Exchange with Windows Server Backup.

    We currently backup the whole server including the .vhd using Copy Backup (possibly because we also use Carbonite for cloud backup). Can I use the Windows Server Backup on the virtual machine to do a Full Backup of Exchange? Or can I change backup settings for Win 2008 to Full despite ‘using another application’?

    Thanks, love your articles.

  17. Jason

    Thank you so much… great article 🙂

  18. Shuvo

    Hi Paul – We had a power outage and the outlook got disconnected. We have Exchange Server 2010 on SBS 2011. Outlook 2007 and 2013 editions. We have two databases. Mailbox database and Public Folder database. A log file went missing and both got dismounted. It gave MapiExceptionJetErrorMissingLogFile: Unable to mount database. (hr=0x80004005, ec=-528)

    So, I ran the eseutil command and found this:
    C:Windowssystem32>eseutil /mh “C:Program FilesMicrosoftExchange ServerV14
    MailboxMailbox DatabaseMailbox Database.edb”

    Extensible Storage Engine Utilities for Microsoft(R) Exchange Server
    Version 14.01
    Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

    Initiating FILE DUMP mode…
    Database: C:Program FilesMicrosoftExchange ServerV14MailboxMailbo
    x DatabaseMailbox Database.edb

    DATABASE HEADER:
    Checksum Information:
    Expected Checksum: 0x10f8b2d3
    Actual Checksum: 0x10f8b2d3

    Fields:
    File Type: Database
    Checksum: 0x10f8b2d3
    Format ulMagic: 0x89abcdef
    Engine ulMagic: 0x89abcdef
    Format ulVersion: 0x620,17
    Engine ulVersion: 0x620,17
    Created ulVersion: 0x620,17
    DB Signature: Create time:09/24/2013 21:47:10 Rand:11751346 Computer:
    cbDbPage: 32768
    dbtime: 31404029 (0x1df2ffd)
    State: Dirty Shutdown
    Log Required: 16602-16605 (0x40da-0x40dd)
    Log Committed: 0-16606 (0x0-0x40de)
    Log Recovering: 0 (0x0)
    GenMax Creation: 03/15/2014 11:03:11
    Shadowed: Yes
    Last Objid: 2933
    Scrub Dbtime: 0 (0x0)
    Scrub Date: 00/00/1900 00:00:00
    Repair Count: 2
    Repair Date: 09/24/2013 21:47:10
    Old Repair Count: 0
    Last Consistent: (0x4047,8,1F) 03/13/2014 00:21:11
    Last Attach: (0x4048,9,86) 03/13/2014 00:21:20
    Last Detach: (0x0,0,0) 00/00/1900 00:00:00
    Dbid: 1
    Log Signature: Create time:09/30/2013 15:00:13 Rand:243347892 Computer:
    OS Version: (6.1.7601 SP 1 NLS ffffffff.ffffffff)

    Previous Full Backup:
    Log Gen: 16565-16585 (0x40b5-0x40c9) – OSSnapshot
    Mark: (0x40CA,8,16)
    Mark: 03/14/2014 21:07:21

    Previous Incremental Backup:
    Log Gen: 0-0 (0x0-0x0)
    Mark: (0x0,0,0)
    Mark: 00/00/1900 00:00:00

    Previous Copy Backup:
    Log Gen: 0-0 (0x0-0x0)
    Mark: (0x0,0,0)
    Mark: 00/00/1900 00:00:00

    Previous Differential Backup:
    Log Gen: 0-0 (0x0-0x0)
    Mark: (0x0,0,0)
    Mark: 00/00/1900 00:00:00

    Current Full Backup:
    Log Gen: 0-0 (0x0-0x0)
    Mark: (0x0,0,0)
    Mark: 00/00/1900 00:00:00

    Current Shadow copy backup:
    Log Gen: 0-0 (0x0-0x0)
    Mark: (0x0,0,0)
    Mark: 00/00/1900 00:00:00

    cpgUpgrade55Format: 0
    cpgUpgradeFreePages: 0
    cpgUpgradeSpaceMapPages: 0

    ECC Fix Success Count: none
    Old ECC Fix Success Count: none
    ECC Fix Error Count: none
    Old ECC Fix Error Count: none
    Bad Checksum Error Count: none
    Old bad Checksum Error Count: none

    Last checksum finish Date: 00/00/1900 00:00:00
    Current checksum start Date: 00/00/1900 00:00:00
    Current checksum page: 0

    Operation completed successfully in 2.449 seconds.

    C:Windowssystem32>eseutil /ml “C:Program FilesMicrosoftExchange ServerV14
    MailboxMailbox DatabaseE00”

    Extensible Storage Engine Utilities for Microsoft(R) Exchange Server
    Version 14.01
    Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

    Initiating FILE DUMP mode…

    Verifying log files…
    Base name: E00

    Log file: C:Program FilesMicrosoftExchange ServerV14MailboxMailbox D
    atabaseE0000000001.log – OK
    Log file: C:Program FilesMicrosoftExchange ServerV14MailboxMailbox D
    atabaseE00.log – OK

    No damaged log files were found.

    Operation completed successfully in 0.468 seconds.

    C:Windowssystem32>eseutil /p “C:Program FilesMicrosoftExchange ServerV14M
    ailboxMailbox DatabaseMailbox Database.edb”

    Extensible Storage Engine Utilities for Microsoft(R) Exchange Server
    Version 14.01
    Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

    Initiating REPAIR mode…
    Database: C:Program FilesMicrosoftExchange ServerV14MailboxMailbox
    DatabaseMailbox Database.edb
    Temp. Database: TEMPREPAIR5948.EDB

    Checking database integrity.

    The database is not up-to-date. This operation may find that
    this database is corrupt because data from the log files has
    yet to be placed in the database.

    To ensure the database is up-to-date please use the ‘Recovery’ operation.

    Scanning Status (% complete)

    0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
    |—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|
    ……………………………………………

    Scanning the database.

    Scanning Status (% complete)

    0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
    |—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|
    ……………………………………………

    Repairing damaged tables.

    Scanning Status (% complete)

    0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
    |—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|

    Deleting unicode fixup table.

    Deleting MSObjids.

    Deleting MSysLocales.
    ……………………………………………

    Repair completed. Database corruption has been repaired!

    Note:
    It is recommended that you immediately perform a full backup
    of this database. If you restore a backup made before the
    repair, the database will be rolled back to the state
    it was in at the time of that backup.

    Operation completed successfully with 595 (JET_wrnDatabaseRepaired, Database cor
    ruption has been repaired) after 737.916 seconds.

    C:Windowssystem32>eseutil /d “C:Program FilesMicrosoftExchange ServerV14M
    ailboxMailbox DatabaseMailbox Database.edb”

    What will be the next step Paul? Please help . I’m a newbie and don’t want to have a corruption in the database or in the log files. Please help by giving me step by step directions.

    1. Avatar photo
      Paul Cunningham

      You’ve done a hard repair and then a degrag. There’s nothing else but to try and mount the database. If it mounts I recommend running a backup ASAP.

    2. ThongDoan

      Hey , i am in situantion as You , my DB i can not repair in this Server Mailbox, Its state is Dirty , i have to bring this DB to anoher Server and Hard Repair as Paul said , and it become Clean , but when i bring this Clean DB to Old Mailbox Server it can not Mount haha . You can Use function merch Database in Exchange 2010 to solve this sittuation .

  19. j orsini

    Paul,

    Wonderful stuff. Does this take mail offline or is this doable while mail is up? ie exchange running?

    1. Avatar photo
      Paul Cunningham

      Backup can be online. Restoring over an existing database requires the database to be dismounted first. Restoring into a recovery database doesn’t require the primary database to be dismounted.

  20. Benaro

    Hi Paul,
    I have exchange 2010 server1 and I use window server backup utility. Can I use this backup and restore it with this method to server2 which is a different hardware[virtual machine] but with the same configuration?
    Server2 is offline and is being used for testing purpose only.

    1. Avatar photo
      Paul Cunningham

      You can restore to a server within the same organization/forest but not one in a different organization/forest.

  21. Robin

    Great article and website Paul, a really useful Exchange resource.

    In relation to backups, you mention that you have to backup all volumes, and not just the folders, that contain Exchange databases and logs. Unfortunately my Exchange Database volume is larger (~11TB) than 2TB thus hitting the wbadmin limit. Can you advise if there is way around it using Windows Server Backup? Why can’t you backup just the folders containing the databases?

    Thanks

  22. Sadiq Mohammed

    Hi Paul,

    Thank you for the tutorial.

    I am a big fan of you and have learned alot from your tutorials and bootcamp Videos.

    Thanks again

    Sadiq Mohammed

  23. bhavani sankar

    hii guys….,
    present i am not starting “microsoft exchange information store” services
    it’s shows error
    please tell me urgent guys….

  24. Sys Admn

    Backup works great, however the backup drive fills up after a month. There is no option to Groom or Remove older backups. Google does not help either, there is a MSDN how to schedule Task, but it is for essentials version of windows 2008 R2, as my version Standard does not have the Server or Cleanup options in Task scheduler.

    Do you have any suggestion or solution for removing older backups automatically. Also, the format of backups is in .VHD file, so I can’t even delete manually… any help is appreciated…

    1. Avatar photo
      Paul Cunningham

      Interesting. I always just configure the destination disk as a dedicated backup disk in Windows Server Backup, and it automatically removes the oldest backups when necessary to make room for new ones.

  25. facebook home

    Thank you for the good writeup. It if truth be told was once a amusement account it.
    Glance complex to more introduced agreeable from you! By the way, how can we communicate?

  26. Kwame Danquah Jnr

    So after the backup has been restored to the original location users automatically have all info restoredon outlook?

    Are there any steps to make sure all users have their old mail?

    thanks

    1. Avatar photo
      Paul Cunningham

      After you finish the restore of a database it, and the data within it, are accessible to the users.

      1. Kwame Danquah Jnr

        Thanks Paul, I have a hyperV server that took the place of the main exchange when it was down so its the main server now.

        How do i point all users to the restored exchange server so they can see their old emails?

        Thx

  27. Dan

    So I have an Exchange 2010 lab running on Hyper-V 2008 R2. I built another guest VM and installed Windows Server Backup. I cannot get that to work, getting VSS errors. Do you know if this will work inside a VM? Just trying to go through some backup/recovery testing using a real life backup solution. Thanks

    1. Avatar photo
      Paul Cunningham

      You’re trying to back up Exchange using a different server? Windows Server Backup can only backup local Exchange data, not remote servers.

  28. vinayagam

    After the backup is completed. When I go to recovery wizard at select recovery type = Applications option is greyed out. How can I resolved this so I can select applications?

  29. konan

    great
    it’s very helpful

  30. Kaifi

    Hi…. Thanx alot 🙂 gr8 stuff
    Bt i m facing a prblm while taking backup, there is an error saying “backup operation failed, cannot create shadow copy”. I tried alot f thing bt stil nt wrking please help me out neone of you guys 🙂

  31. Bert Leen

    Hi.

    Don;t worry friends here is solution for your all problems related exchange server mailbox, Kernel for exchange server make tool for restore with windows server backup and recover all mails in edb file format from corrupt and damaged MS exchange server all versions. for more details visit in search engine Kernel email recovery software.

  32. Sebastien

    Hi,

    Be carefull, Windows Server Backup does not check database integrity, it just saves files and says nothing. You could lost all your mail by using this if you’re taking no preventive actions.
    Check your database integrity each time you backup, or else you will have very bad surprises in restoring corrupted data…

  33. Sebastien

    Hi,

    Be carrefull, Windows Server Backup does not check database integrity, it just save files and says nothing. You could lost all your mail by using this and take no preventive actions.
    Check your database integrity each time you backup, or you will have good surprises in restoring corrupted data…

  34. Denzel Marimuthu

    Hi Please can you help me? I have an Exchange 2010 sp1 server on Windows Server r2. The backs up are configured correctly but the Transactiion log just wont clear. the logs are now at 125 and 175 on two mailstores.

    Please help

  35. James

    You make it very clear that when using Windows Server Backup, entire volumes need to be backed up as opposed to individual databases. If I wanted to restore and overwrite a single database but my volume restore contained several databases, would it be acceptable to just select the ‘This database can be overwritten by a restore’ option for the one database that I want to overwrite. What would happen with the other databases that are being restored if I chose to restore to original location but the ‘This database can be overwritten by a restore’ option was not selected. Thanks!

  36. Guillaume Roche

    Hi,
    Great tutorial thanks, but when i restored my exchange only the mails was restored, the new users since the last recovery or the new distribution group was not restored … how to explain that ?
    Thanks for all
    Best regards,

  37. svetlana

    Hi! What about saving/detetion transaction logs after backup completes? Do we need to delete all logs after successful bakup? Can we do it manually from task (script)? Otherwise we will get ampty disk space, is not it?

  38. Andrea

    Excatly, which is the reason that i can’t select single folder? I have and SBS 2011 with exchange 2010. The database and log is on the same volume. If i move Datastore and Log on two different volume is it possibile to backup only these two volumes?

    Best regards

  39. Christophe

    Great doc! Was very helpful to restore the mailbox database!

    Thx Christophe

  40. Sumit

    Excellent doc Paul – Can you please explain why the back up has to be done at volume level and why the backup cannot be performed at folder level?

    Cheers!

    1. Gabe

      I too would love to know this answer.

  41. Nabil

    Great stuff Paul!

    This was very helpful. Thank you for your time and effort.

    1. Joel

      Excelente trabajo.

  42. Alan Temperly

    After the backup is completed. When I go to recovery wizard at select recovery type = Applications option is greyed out. How can I resolved this so I can select applications?

    1. vinayagam

      If the database in c drive then you take backup only the database then the application option is greyed out.

      If the database in d drive then you take backup for full of D driver then in restore “select recovery type = Applications” will be avaliable

      vinayagam

    2. aw

      If you want the option “application” active, you have to backup ealier all partiton of exchange data.

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