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Julian123

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Exchange 2003 server died and I need to recover the mailboxes.

I currently have two Exchange 2003 servers. One of them has been lost due to a hardware failure and there is no backup.  The e-mail in them is not important but I would like to get the mailboxes functional again.  Here's what I'd like to do:

1. Find out which mailboxes were on that server. If I open the exchange system manager on the working server and then drill down to the list of databases, if I click on one of them I get an error and it will not tell me which mailboxes were there.
2. "Move" these mailboxes to the other server.  Effectively, I just want to bring up those mailboxes on the existing server without any data in them.

This is similar to the configuration only move in exchange 2007, I'm just not sure how to do it with 2003.
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Viral Rathod
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Can you check this

Recovering a Failed Exchange 2003 Server Using the Disaster Recovery Switch
http://www.petri.co.il/exchange_disasterecovery_switch.htm
Hi,Before you could "move something" an suggesting, you do not have backups, no logs, no .edb databases, you have to do a lot of work, but it works, i did it 3-4times @customers:

Mainly:
1) Move the FSMO roles and (if it was a DC and GC)  the GC to the other server.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324801/en-us

2) Remove any Exchange entries from AD with ADSIEDIT & metadata cleanup:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/216498/en-us

3) recreate / check AdressBook, Offline Address List ,  Schedule+ Free Busy folder, Recipient Update Service, connectors, Public folders.
You can use this guide / at least parts of it: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/822931/en-us

4) Remove old computer account by using "Active Directory Sites and Services" tool.
5) Remove old DNS and WINS records of the orphaned Domain Controller.

6) If it was installed on a DC with active replications, check this out:
Force Active Directory replication by using "Repadmin.exe" tool.
Repadmin /syscall  - to initiate a replication for all partners
repadmin /syncall /A /e /P (/A Synchronizes all partitions on the DC you're running it on, /e Synchronizes partitions across all Sites, /P Forces a "Push" that pushes changes outwards instead of the default to pull changes)
check replication status:
To see if anything is in the queue waiting for replication:
Run "repadmin /queue *"

Find out what the replication latency is, if any. If it's less than a few minutes, you're fine.
Run "repadmin /showutdvec server-name dc=mydomain,dc=lab /latency"

7) Check any additionals Services (DNS, DHCP) to remove old entries that could slow down or disturb the network

8) Now your existing Exchange Server should be aware, that its the only one existing and you can create new mailboxes an maybe fill it with data of cached mailboxes (exchange cached mailboyes with outlook)
All you need do is user ADModify to update three Parameter for the users which were on that server.

Three Parameters are msExchHomeServerName Set this to new server, homeMTA this also you need to set it to the new server and then homeMDB Set this to the New Store/Database on the New Server.

To Identify which users malbox where on the old exchange server, just use active Directory and User on the current exchange server and there you are create search for all the user on the old server. This is built in you just need to specify the exchange server

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shajidali
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Sorry to be worrying you again, but you wrote: I currently have two Exchange 2003 servers. One of them has been lost due to a hardware failure

For me it looks like orphaned AD / Exchange entries in your organisation, i suggest not to do only "rehome" your mailboxes. Fix your Domain Structure / AD / Exchange Adressbooks, etc too.