Windows Server 2003 backup on crash!!!

is it possible to put it all in a sort of PST file... then "export" the pst file into the new OS?

Do you have a working copy of Active Directory or can you restore from a backup?
If yes, then it's easy to recover, providing that your Exchange files haven't become corrupt.

If a DC is available then run the exchange setup using the /disasterrecovery switch.
This will read the Exchange configuration from Active Directory and restore all setting.
Be sure to configure the Server exactly the same as the old server in respect of drive letters and then just copy the exchange data files to the new server.

You should be able to mount the store then, or at least run some diagnostics.

The sad part is without a Domain Controller you cannot do much recovery.
Do by any chance have a system state backup? Even an old one will be better than none.

Check out the link for more options, but still a requirement that the server is already a DC.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/816120#6

the harddrive will not boot up is the issue.. i can create a brand new OS install of win serv 2003 on another HD and give the AD the same name etc... but i have no idea how to boot the disk.. it just crashes.. (i can read the files from HD if i boot onto another HD (just access the files?)(

ok .. well im kind of desperate at this point... all ir eally need to do is backup the contacts, email, calendar ... basically the exchange stuff... is there anyway to get them into a .pst file... then just do a complete reinstalll.. create new users... and then just load in the pst file from outlook?

yea all i was using was the exchange features.. so literally just the Emails, calendar, contacts... thats all i need.. nothing else... ? maybe another method besides pst?

is there a place where an .ost file is stored??

ok... so i had a windows server 2003 and an exchange server 2003 R2 running...

The server crashed.. when it starts up.. blue scvreen pops up and the computer restarts...


so i took out the harddrive and plugged it into my windows 7 computer... I can access the data all the files from the harddrive from the windows 7 computer...

i had 2 users with exchange data i want to recover from the windows server 2003/exchange harddrive... that is the situation i am in... can i install some type of AD program on my win 7 computer to extract that info? or is there anything i can do? thanks!!