ctwalla
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Deleting an orphen mailbox
I have an old exchange 2000 server SP3 that I would like to permanently uninstall. However on this server I have one remaining orphan mailbox that I cannot delete. I need to be able to somehow delete this mailbox.
I have already tried doing the following:
Removing the orphaned mailbox by using Exchange maintenance.
Removing the orphaned mailbox manually by running the clean up agent.
The mailbox is not attached to any user object and the mailbox migration wizard does not work.
I have also tried completely deleting the database store which this mailbox is hosted, which I wasnt able to do.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
THX in advance.
I have already tried doing the following:
Removing the orphaned mailbox by using Exchange maintenance.
Removing the orphaned mailbox manually by running the clean up agent.
The mailbox is not attached to any user object and the mailbox migration wizard does not work.
I have also tried completely deleting the database store which this mailbox is hosted, which I wasnt able to do.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
THX in advance.
Can you reconnect a user to it, run EX Task Wizard and then delete the mailbox? What options is the mailbox giving you?
ASKER
MrLonandB: (Thanks for the quick response)
The Reconnect option is not available, its grayed out. The purge option under the all task menu is also grayed out (unavailable).
The Reconnect option is not available, its grayed out. The purge option under the all task menu is also grayed out (unavailable).
Hmm. With no options available...
Have you already tried stopping/restarting services, rebooting this machine?
Have you already tried stopping/restarting services, rebooting this machine?
ASKER
Correct, I have restarted the server, stopped and restarted each service. The server is in working order, no errors or failed services. This server used to host over 400 mailboxes, which I recently moved to a new server.
I have pretty much X'd out the services as the course of this problem. Its seems to be a database issue, however I cant say for sure.
Is there any utilities that I can use to edit or manipulate exchange database at a lower level?
I have pretty much X'd out the services as the course of this problem. Its seems to be a database issue, however I cant say for sure.
Is there any utilities that I can use to edit or manipulate exchange database at a lower level?
Is this a user mailbox or a system mailbox?
The reason I ask is that many people try to uninstall Exchange, get the message about a mailbox being located on the server and presume that it is one of the system mailboxes causing the problem. However that is often not the case.
It is possible to have a mailbox on the server without the mailbox being listed in ESM. This is because Exchange only creates the mailbox when required. However the setup programme detects the AD reference to the server which needs to be removed.
Simon.
The reason I ask is that many people try to uninstall Exchange, get the message about a mailbox being located on the server and presume that it is one of the system mailboxes causing the problem. However that is often not the case.
It is possible to have a mailbox on the server without the mailbox being listed in ESM. This is because Exchange only creates the mailbox when required. However the setup programme detects the AD reference to the server which needs to be removed.
Simon.
ASKER
Sembee:
The mailbox in reference is a user mailbox.
This mailbox was created before I become the exchange administrator. However its seems like somehow this mailbox became corrupted. My first guess is that the user account who owned this mailbox was deleted and recreated with a different mailbox. Because the user account that was linked to this mailbox still active with a different mailbox.
Its also possible that i do have other mailboxes on the server that Im not able to see listed in ESM. How can check on this?
The mailbox in reference is a user mailbox.
This mailbox was created before I become the exchange administrator. However its seems like somehow this mailbox became corrupted. My first guess is that the user account who owned this mailbox was deleted and recreated with a different mailbox. Because the user account that was linked to this mailbox still active with a different mailbox.
Its also possible that i do have other mailboxes on the server that Im not able to see listed in ESM. How can check on this?
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ASKER
Simon:
I followed the steps you outlined in your article on how to find hidden mailboxes. The search found 4 system attendent mailboxes and no user mailboxes. However the orphen user mailbox is still listed in the ESM.
I followed the steps you outlined in your article on how to find hidden mailboxes. The search found 4 system attendent mailboxes and no user mailboxes. However the orphen user mailbox is still listed in the ESM.
ASKER
Im ultimately planning on permanently decommissioning this exchange server. So I'm considering deleting the system attendant mailboxes, however I'm not sure if that will resolve my problem because of the orphan mailbox that still exists on the server.
I would like to be able to get rid of the orphan mailbox first, however any other suggestions will definitely be welcomed.
Thank you;
I would like to be able to get rid of the orphan mailbox first, however any other suggestions will definitely be welcomed.
Thank you;
ASKER
Alright.. I went ahead and removed the system attendent mailbox and deleted the database store that was hosting the orphan mailbox. However I'm still getting the same error when I attempt to uninstall the exchange software.
Any suggestions? Any one.
Any suggestions? Any one.
ASKER
Problem resolved.
Our network consist of 8 remote sub domains. When I first searched for the hidden mailboxes, I missed to include the remote domain in the search field. Anyhow I add the remain domain to the search and found 2 other mail enable users that belonged to this server. After deleting the users, the uninstallation completed with an issues.
Thankx Sembee for the heads up.
Our network consist of 8 remote sub domains. When I first searched for the hidden mailboxes, I missed to include the remote domain in the search field. Anyhow I add the remain domain to the search and found 2 other mail enable users that belonged to this server. After deleting the users, the uninstallation completed with an issues.
Thankx Sembee for the heads up.