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Microsoft has designed the Exchange Server as a robust application that creates sizeable database with multiple GBs and each database consists multiple mailboxes. The user gets the authority that he/she can delete an older or unwanted mailbox to create space for new data. It creates a chance of probability that the user may delete a mailbox abruptly or unintentionally. To overcome such threats, Microsoft provides some tools that can help the administrator to check for unnatural behavior in Exchange. The tools are following –
All these features minimize the chances for accidental data deletion from Exchange Server. But the user can still delete the mailbox accidentally
Talking about the Exchange Server 2016, deleted mailboxes can be recovered manually or using third-party solutions. For recovery, you can create a user object and connect the user account to the disconnected mailbox. However, this is possible only if the retention period of the mailbox is not over.
Try Kernel for Exchange Server recovery software to recover deleted mailboxes from Exchange 2010/2013/2016/2019 within their retention period.
When you delete an Exchange mailbox, it does not get deleted permanently; instead, it is retained for 30 days by default (unless manually purged). Within the retention period, it is possible for users to restore the deleted mailbox. But once this 30-day period is over, the mailbox will be removed permanently from the database.
To configure the mailbox retention period manually, you can use the Exchange Admin Center (EAC). Select servers on the left pane. Under the databases tab, select the required database and then click the edit icon. In Limits option, modify the number of days in the Keep deleted mailboxes for (days) field (by default the number is 30).
To restore a deleted mailbox, you need to connect it to a user account. The process is similar for shared mailboxes, linked mailboxes, and resource mailboxes. And this can be done using the Exchange admin center (EAC) or Exchange Management Shell (EMS). Alternately, you can use third-party tools to recover data from deleted mailboxes.
You can connect deleted mailboxes to user accounts using Exchange Admin Center. The process is same for all types of mailboxes – linked mailboxes, resource mailboxes and shared mailboxes.
Now, your Exchange will connect the deleted mailbox to the selected user account, and so the deleted mailbox is available to the user again.
When you use Exchange Management Shell to connect a deleted mailbox to a user account, you need to specify the type of mailbox (whether it is shared, linked, room, or equipment mailbox). The general syntax is:
Before starting, keep in mind that not more than one user can be connected to an Exchange mailbox (as GUIDs must be unique). To reconnect a deleted mailbox, start Exchange Server Manager. Go to the mailbox store having disconnected mailboxes. Under the mailbox store, click Mailboxes. Then, click Clean up Agent from the right-click menu. Select the disconnected mailboxes for recovery and click Reconnect. Finally, select the related user account and then click OK.
All the solutions mentioned above can be used for the recovery of deleted mailboxes. But there are situations in which you need to recover deleted mailboxes to Outlook PST, Exchange Server, Microsoft 365, etc.
In that case, third-party tools like Exchange Recovery can be used. It is relatively a simple, automatic, reliable and effective way to recover and save deleted mailboxes from Exchange 2016 or any other Exchange Server database files. The tool is integrated with smart algorithms to perform a clean and quick data recovery.
Let us have a look at the whole process of recovering deleted mailboxes of Exchange 2016 with minimum effort.
Thus, the software repair corrupt Exchange database data along with deleted mailboxes and items. You can also export EDB to PST or other destination like Microsoft 365. You can try this efficient solution to perform deleted mailbox recovery without disturbing the integrity of data.
The deleted mailboxes in Exchange Server 2016 can be recovered within the retention period using the manual recovery. Once the mailbox is deleted permanently, then you cannot recover it. Only a professional software like Kernel for Exchange Server can retrieve a permanently deleted mailbox from a database. It will scan the database and present you the mailbox.
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Manual methods are fine to recover deleted Exchange mailbox, but they are time consuming and any error may be caused recovery failure. I prefer to go with Exchange recovery tools so that the process can be simple and fast and recovery will be efficient and comprehensive without loss.
The process of recovery deleted mailbox become simple by following the steps given above.