[Update]: This post was updated on July 29, 2021.
An email organization lives and dies by mailbox backups. Unfortunately, all Microsoft Exchange versions, including Exchange 2019 and 2016, come with limited brick-level backup capabilities. Basically, the only available granular option is an export to PST files. This can be done via Outlook (obviously), PowerShell and in some cases also via Exchange Management Console / Control Panel. In this article I discuss the options available via PowerShell in: Exchange 2019, Exchange 2016, Exchange 2013 and Exchange 2010.
If you prefer a video guide of this process, visit Export Exchange mailbox data to PST with PowerShell (video guide).
Note: To export Exchange 2007 mailboxes to PST files, use the Export-Mailbox cmdlet. If you are using Exchange Online, exporting mailboxes to PST requires a different approach, described in this article.
Reasons for exporting mailboxes to PST
Before we get down to scripting, I would like to say a few words about mailbox export to PST and PST files in general.
PST (Personal Storage Table) files have been the primary means of mailbox backup since early versions of Outlook. While newer, modern Outlook versions depend primarily on OST (Offline Storage Table) files, PSTs are still there. That’s because they require no third-party tools plus are simple to use and supported by pretty much any Outlook version. Additionally, both users and admins can export mailbox items to this format.
The three main purposes of PST files are as follows:
- Mailbox data backup
- Archiving
- Migration (for example from Exchange 2010 to Exchange Online)
Single mailbox export to PST file
Exporting Exchange mailbox contents to a PST file is achieved using the MailboxExportRequest cmdlet. It has only 2 obligatory parameters: –FilePath – defines the network share path of the PST file to which you want to export the data; and –Mailbox – defines the Alias, SMTP address or Display name of the mailbox you will export. Requirements:
- The user performing the export must be a member of a role group which has the Mailbox Import Export role added. The easiest way to assign it is running this script:
New-ManagementRoleAssignment -Role "Mailbox Import Export" -User "<user name or alias>"
To learn more see the “Add a role to a role group” section of this Microsoft article.
- The location to which you will export the PST file must be a shared folder.
Syntax
Here is an example of a mailbox export request, which backs up an entire mailbox to a PST file:
New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox <user> -FilePath \\<server FQDN>\<shared folder name>\<PST name>.pst
Limiting the scope of exported contents is possible using additional parameters, e.g.:
-ContentFilter
Specifies what conditions the contents of a mailbox have to match to be exported into the PST file. The conditions are provided in the form of standard PowerShell logical clauses with several item properties available for filtering (wildcards are supported). Example of a script that exports items received prior to 2013-01-01 with subjects beginning with fwd:
New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox <user> -ContentFilter {(Received -lt '01/01/2013') -and (Subject -like 'fwd*')} -FilePath \\<server FQDN>\<shared folder name>\<PST name>.pst-ExcludeFolders and -IncludeFolders
Just what it sounds like. You can choose from all Exchange mailbox folders. There are also two interesting features available:
- The capability to filter personal folders located under root folders using the <FolderName>/* syntax.
- The capability to filter well known Exchange mailbox folders regardless of their name in a local language using the #<FolderName>#/* syntax.
Here is an example of a script that exports only the Inbox and Sent Items folders:
New-MailboxExportRequest -IncludeFolders "#Inbox#/*","#SentItems#" -Mailbox <user> -FilePath \\<server FQDN>\<shared folder name>\<PST name>.pst
-IsArchive
A switch parameter, which defines the archive as the only source of the export. Example:
New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox <user> -IsArchive -FilePath \\<server FQDN>\<shared folder name>\<PST name>.pst
-Name
Sets the name of an export request. Useful for tracking or if you want to set more than 10 export requests per a single mailbox. This is because by default Exchange assigns only 10 consecutive names to export requests related to a single mailbox (starting with MailboxExport through MailboxExport9) and then stops. To proceed when all 10 default export request names have been taken, you have to either flush your export requests or start assigning your own names using the Name parameter. Example:
New-MailboxExportRequest -Name <unique name> -Mailbox <user> -IsArchive -FilePath \\<server FQDN>\<shared folder name>\<PST name>.pst
Additional information
A single MailboxExportRequest script can, of course, contain multiple parameters, including ones I didn’t mention. For a full list of available parameters, as well as syntax information and other details, consult this Microsoft article.
Bulk mailbox export to PST file
The requirements here are identical as in the case of single mailbox exports:
- The user performing the export must be a member of a role group which has the Mailbox Import Export role added (see previous section for more).
- The location to which you will export the PST file must be a shared folder.
Method 1
Save all mailboxes to a variable (in my case it’s AllMailboxes):
$AllMailboxes = Get-Mailbox
Export all mailboxes to PST files with names based on mailbox aliases (to use a different mailbox property replace the phrase “Alias” with its name):
$AllMailboxes|%{$_|New-MailboxExportRequest -FilePath \\<server FQDN>\<shared folder name>\$($_.Alias).pst}Additional parameters can be used just as in single mailbox exports (see the first section of this article).
Method 2
Run the below script for the same effect as in Method 1 (the only difference is the use of the foreach command instead of piping):
foreach ($Mailbox in (Get-Mailbox)) { New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox $Mailbox -FilePath "\\<server FQDN>\<shared folder name>\$($Mailbox.Alias).pst" }Limiting the scope of exported mailboxes
You will notice that the methods I describe result in exporting all mailboxes located on your servers. If you want to limit the scope of exported mailboxes, you can do so e.g. using the Get-Mailbox -Filter parameter. Here is an example of a script which lists mailboxes belonging to a security group called export1.
Get-Mailbox -Filter {MemberOfGroup -ne $export1}NOTE: Using the -Filter parameter with the Get-Mailbox cmdlet results in excluding mailboxes that are defined in the parameter. This is why, to limit the scope of exported mailboxes to e.g. Batch1, you have to use the -Filter parameter to exclude all mailboxes that are not part of Batch1 – hence the use of the -ne (not equals) operator. Adding the -Filter parameter to the Get-Mailbox cmdlets in Method 1 and Method 2 scripts will result in limiting the scope of exported mailboxes.
Mailbox backups to PST file: The bright and the dark side
All in all the drawbacks seem to outweigh the advantages, mainly due to clunky PST handling options and due to the files themselves being rather unstable:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
|
|
Easy brick-level Exchange mailbox backups
You can have all the advantages of a PowerShell assisted mailbox-to-PST backup without its drawbacks. CodeTwo Backup for Exchange allows for secure granular mailbox backups to a stable and easily managed database. The software allows for scheduling multiple simultaneous backup and restore jobs, includes a smart versioning mechanism, full item search and preview, and additionally, allows for archiving storages to PST files as one of two available archiving models Learn more about CodeTwo Backup examples of use
Mailbox migration via PST: Pros and cons
As I’ve already mentioned, PST files can be used to migrate from one Exchange Server to another (including Exchange Online). This migration method is also called the manual migration – you don’t create migration endpoints, but rather recreate environment from scratch and import the mailbox contents from CSV files afterwards.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
|
|
Exchange mailbox migration simplified
Realistically, if you have more than a couple of mailboxes to migrate, PST migration won’t do. The amount of work it requires together with poor reliability of PST files make it one of the most stressful procedures known to IT.
If you want to save yourself a lot of time and nerves, take a look at our migration solutions:
CodeTwo Exchange Migration – a tool which allows you to migrate from Exchange Server version 2010+, Exchange Online, or IMAP server directly to any other Exchange Server, including Exchange 2019.
CodeTwo Office 365 Migration – the solution which helps organizations migrate from any source server to Exchange Online. It also allows a Microsoft 365 cross-tenant migration
Both migration tools:
- simplify and automate the migration process,
- come with a detailed migration plan,
- allow automatic mailbox creation,
- support public folders migration,
- are developed in accordance with ISO/IEC 27001 & ISO/IEC 27018-certified Information Security Management System (ISMS). You can be sure that the tools offer world-class security and reliability.
is there a way to auto-split the output .pst file so I get files of max 20GB size? Like export1.pst, export2.pst, export 3.pst ?
There’s no way to auto-split the output files. You can use the -ContentFilter parameter e.g. to limit results’ size, but it’s far from being automatic.
To export and send email like in ecp:
$PathExport ="\\server\share\folder"
$mailboxName = "mailbox"
$NotifEmail = "[email protected]"
New-MailboxExportRequest -mailbox "$mailboxName" -filepath "$PathExport\$mailboxName.pst" -name $mailboxName | Out-Null
Set-Notification -NotificationEmails ( "$NotifEmail" ) -Identity (Get-MailboxExportRequest -name $mailboxName |Get-MailboxExportRequestStatistics| Select -expand requestguid).guid
I have 15 databases and want to export only 1 db at a time but all mailboxes within the db. How is this script written?
To do this, you need to use Get-Mailbox with the -database attribute, so the syntax to export all mailboxes which are in the selected database, would be:
foreach ($Mailbox in (Get-Mailbox -Database <Database ID>)) {New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox $Mailbox -FilePath “\\<server FQDN>\<shared folder name>\$($Mailbox.Alias).pst” }
Mind to replace the parts in angle brackets.
is there a way to export top level ‘Inbox’ folders (including subfolders) to individual .pst files in order to import into individual mailboxes?
You could use the -IncludeFolders attribute to limit exported items to certain folders only. Unfortunately, exporting certain folders to separate PST files (and handling those multiple files later on) might might be even more problematic than doing an Outlook export.
Bulk export to .pst in exchange 2019 fix…
Method 1 – piping does not seem to work
Method 2 – Change $Mailbox TO $Mailbox.Name. Example:
foreach ($Mailbox in (Get-Mailbox)) { New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox $Mailbox.Name -FilePath “\\\\$($Mailbox.Alias).pst” }
Hi Dellsmash
That’s right, whenever piping fails (for whatever reason) the foreach loop is the way to go.
Tried adding the switch already, we get a piping error.
The input object cannot be bound to any parameters for the command either because the command does not take pipeline
input or the input and its properties do not match any of the parameters that take pipeline input.
+ CategoryInfo : InvalidArgument: (Exchange SA:PSObject) [New-MailboxExportRequest], ParameterBindingExce
ption
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : InputObjectNotBound,New-MailboxExportRequest
What about the second method, then?
foreach ($Mailbox in (Get-Mailbox)) { New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox $Mailbox -isArchive -FilePath "\\*sharedfolderlocation*\$($Mailbox.Alias).pst" }You could also refine it a bit by excluding mailboxes which do not have archives enabled:
foreach ($Mailbox in (Get-Mailbox -filter {ArchiveState -ne "None"})) {...How would you modify the script for bulk pst export to only export each users archive (-isarchive)? can’t seem to find the proper syntax to export all users archive mailbox only to pst.
Simply add the -IsArchive switch to the bulk export cmdlet, and it should work just fine:
$AllMailboxes = Get-Mailbox;\\$($_.Alias).pst}
$AllMailboxes|%{$_|New-MailboxExportRequest -IsArchive -FilePath \\
Excellent article, congratulations!
What would be the exact command line for creating PSTs with only calendar and contacts (no mails) for all the mailboxes inside an Exchange 2010 (and the PST files be named after the mailbox names)? Thank you all
Thank you!\\$($Mailbox.UserPrincipalName).pst” }
You can use the following cmdlet:
foreach ($Mailbox in (Get-Mailbox)) {New-MailboxExportRequest -IncludeFolders “#Calendar#/”, “#Contacts#/” -Mailbox $Mailbox -FilePath “\\
Mind to test in your environment and to substitute server FQDN and shared folder name with the correct values.
Thanks for this… was very helpful. I needed to tweak the syntax for filtering by AD Group to:
-eq Full/AD/Path/To/Group” So stitched together looked similar to this:
foreach ($Mailbox in (Get-Mailbox -Filter {MemberOfGroup -eq “domain.local/OU/OU/GroupName”})) { New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox $Mailbox -FilePath “\\UNCpath\share\$($Mailbox.Alias).pst” }
Hopefully this will help others wanting to batch export people in small AD group rather than all.
Hi Andy,
Thanks for your contribution, it looks like a decent way of filtering the results!
Hi Adam,
Is there a way to export from offline edb?
Thx
Hi Atila,
I am not aware of a native way to export from an offline Exchange database file. I have seen some edb to pst export tools, though. You could google and try out one of those.
Hy,
I´m wondering if theres any possibility to export the usermailbox + archive (-isarchive) in one step to one pst?
many thanks for your help!
best
Patrick
Hi Patrick,
Sorry, as far as I know, you can either export the mailbox or the archive, but not both with the same cmdlet. You can create more than one mailbox export request per mailbox, though, and pointing export cmdlets to the same pst file should result in merging the mailbox and the archive.
Thank you for your input – i will try and let you know.
best
Patrick
Hi Adam,
I want to export a user data from 2009 to till date.
Exchange server is 2013.
How to do it any command.
Hi Noor,
The cmdlet which will export user data from 2009 to the current date should look like this:
New-Mailboxexportrequest -mailbox your_user -ContentFilter {Received -gt "1/1/2009"} -filepath \\Server_FQDN\Folder_Name\PST_name.pst}Any idea how to determine what account the server is using to export the files?
I can export pst files to a network share but I have to add full permissions to everyone for the folder I am exporting to for it to be successful. All the admin accounts, including the one I am logged in on, that the server could possibly be using have full access to the folder, but the export will fail with permission denied until I open it up to everyone.
Exchange 2013, using the management console, though I suspect power shell would give similar results.
According to the New-MailboxExportRequest article on TechNet, you need to assign Read/Write permission to the group Exchange Trusted Subsystem to the target folder and Read permission to the source folder of your export.
Hello,
i want export the Archive mailbox to PST. how can we Achieve this.
Thanks,
vinay
Hi Vinay,
Please use the -IsArchive switch inside the cmdlet. You can see an example cmdlet above, under the Single mailbox export to PST file heading.
HI, Adam I want to create 2 PST files of a single mailbox.I don’t want to run the script 2 times. How can I do? i want to split my mailbox based on 1 year and 4 years , so i need 2 pst files for that within a single script.
please help me out soon…..
Hi Richa,
The easiest way to export one mailbox to two different pst files would be to call New-MailboxExportRequest twice. You can do this within a single line, just separate cmdlets with a semicolon. The following example should create two pst files, first a file with elements which have been received one year ago or later, and the second with elements older than 1 year, but not older than 4 years:
New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox -ContentFilter (Received -gt '09/12/2016') -FilePath \\\\.pst ; New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox -ContentFilter {(Received -lt '09/12/2016') AND (Received -gt '09/12/2013')} -FilePath \\\\<2nd PST name>.pst When I export all mailboxes from a database, only 10 are made each time, the others are queued. How can I increase this number?
Do you have a similar script to import these back into Exchange?
Hi Josh
Sure, there is the New-MailboxImportRequest for the on-premises Exchange. There is even an example of how to use it for bulk mailbox import in the New-MailboxImportRequest TechNet Manual. If you run into any problems, do not hesitate to ask your questions here.
Hi Adam, I want to export 20 of 40 mailboxes to PST. I don’t want to run the script 20 times. How can I put 20 names in the script
Hi Tom,
Have you checked section Limiting the scope of exported mailboxes in Bulk mailbox export to PST file in the article above? It explains how to export only a single group of users, which is the easiest way to go. If you want to specify the chosen mailboxes manually, use
Get-Mailbox -Filter {(EmailAddresses -eq "1st-email-address") -or (EmailAddresses -eq "2nd-email-adress") -or ...}.Hi,
thanks for the article. Lights little bit up.
But wondering if someone knows, if
rules,
out-of-office messages and
signatures
will also be exported and of course imported via “New-MailboxExportRequest….”? Did not found any hint on MS pages.
thanks, Alex
What happens the second time you export to a pst? Does it overwrite the previous pst or just add to it any new data?
Hi Al,
The second time you export to the same PST file, the new version overwrites the previous one. Adding new data (or incremental backup) can be done only with the help of third party tools, like CodeTwo Backup for Exchange.
Great write up. Excuse me for being a bit of a dumb dumb. Where do I add the Get-Mailbox filter to the initial script to export all mailboxes from that group. Thanks for your help with this and again sorry if sound like a newbie to it al… but I am LOL
I’m not sure if I understand you correctly, but if you want to export a filtered group to PST, the -Filter parameter must be inside the round brackets, like that:
(Get-Mailbox -Filter {MemberOfGroup -eq $export1})Hi,
how can I “PS-” wait until New-MailboxExportRequest is done
thx+
Hi reredok,
I’m not sure if I understand the question, but keep in mind that there is no default limit of simultaneous export requests (as far as I know). Exchange can automatically generate 10 MailboxExportRequest names, but you should still be able to add new ones with custom names.
Also, you can remove exports request using the Remove-MailboxExportRequest cmdlet: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff607464(v=exchg.160).aspx
Please let me know if this helps,
Adam
thanks, I mean:
### start export
New-MailboxExportRequest -ContentFilter …..
### determine if Export is ready
while(!(Get-MailboxExportRequest … -Status Completed)) …..
{
# next PS
}
while… doesn’t work for me to wait until export is ready.
hope now it’s clearer.
thx+
Hi reredok,
Here’s a simple script that meets your requirement:
$nRequest = 0;
foreach ($mailbox in (Get-Mailbox))
{
New-MailboxExportRequest -ContentFilter ...;
while ((Get-MailboxExportRequest -Name $nRequest).Status -ne "Completed" ...)
{
Start-Sleep -s 2
}
$nRequest++;
}
Note! If you only use the -ne “Completed” condition, the script is at risk of falling into an endless loop when an export request fails, is suspended, etc (see Parameters > Status: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff607479(v=exchg.160).aspx). You should either prepare a condition that takes this into account or add a timeout, e.g.:
...
while($nTimeout -le 30 -And (Get-MailboxExportRequest -Name $nRequest).Status -ne "Completed")
{
Start-Sleep -s 2
$nTimeout += 2
continue;
}
...
Hope this helps,
Adam
None of the commands are working.
[PS] C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Microsoft Exchange Server 2010>New-ManagementRoleAssignment -R
ole “Mailbox Import Export” -User “someuser”
The term ‘New-ManagementRoleAssignment’ is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable p
rogram. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:29
+ New-ManagementRoleAssignment <<<MailboxExportRequest
The term ‘MailboxExportRequest’ is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program.
Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:21
+ MailboxExportRequest <<<Get-ManagementRoleAssignment -r
oleassignee someuser | select-object role
The term ‘Get-ManagementRoleAssignment’ is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable p
rogram. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:29
+ Get-ManagementRoleAssignment <<<New-ManagementRoleAssignment -R
ole “Mailbox Import Export” -User “someuser”
The term ‘New-ManagementRoleAssignment’ is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable p
rogram. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:29
+ New-ManagementRoleAssignment <<<
Hi Baldwin,
What version of Exchange are you running?
The reason I ask is because Exchange 2007 used the
Export-Mailboxcmdlet (https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/exchange/2007/04/13/how-to-export-and-import-mailboxes-to-pst-files-in-exchange-2007-sp1/), while Exchange Online only allows for PST exports via eDiscovery (https://www.codetwo.com/admins-blog/how-to-export-office-365-mailboxes-to-pst-using-ediscovery/).-Adam
Hi there,
I’ve got a problem with cmdlet “New-MailboxExportRequest”, too. I’m running my powershell as an admin, I assigned my Malibox Import Export, but Mailbox Export Request doesn’t work. It’s displaying this error:
“New-MailboxExportRequest : The term ‘New-MailboxExportRequest’ is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, scr
ipt file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is corre
ct and try again.”
I was finding potential solutions of this problem, but I didn’t find. So, could I ask you for help? I’d be very grateful, if you help me.
Thank you for any reply.
Daniel.
Hi Daniel,
Please verify that the Mailbox Export Role has been correctly assigned by running:
Get-ManagementRoleAssignment -roleassignee (name_of_user) | select-object roleAlso – which version of Exchange are you running?
-Adam
New-MailboxExportRequest works fine but not able to open that PST file in Outlook. Please take care.
Hello Shailendra,
Does Outlook return any errors when you try to open the PST? Also, what version of Outlook are you running?
-Adam
We are using Outlook 2003.
Hi Shailendra,
That might be the problem right there :) Outlook 2003 imposes several limitations on PST files. See this article for more: http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/config/changing-the-default-pst-and-ost-sizes/
Best regards,
Adam
Thanks,
I had to modify my script and now it’s up :-)
Thanks
Hi, How do you run this script using a scheduled task ?
thanks
Hi David,
To run a script using the Task Scheduler, follow the steps below:
1. Save the script you want to run to the .ps1 format.
2. Open the Task Scheduler, go to Task Scheduler Library and create a new task (right-click on the Task Scheduler Library).
3. In the new task window, go to the Actions tab, click the New… button and, in the resulting window, provide:
– Action: Start a program
– Program/script: powershell.exe (or browse the file: C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe)
– Add arguments: -nologo -command “path to the file with the powershell script”
4. Other tabs in the task window i.e. General, Triggers, Conditions and Settings set up the way you need.
5. Click OK to save the task.
Hope this helps!
Adam
Thanks for sharing this Information Adam. You have explained it really well. But whenever I try for backup Exchange Mailbox to PST using commands, I get error “You don’t have permission to export”.
Manual way is really challenging task for me therefore I have purchased a tool for backup by exchange database in PST. Its name is SysTools Exchange Recovery Software and it works very well.
Hi Ben,
It might be that the account you are using does not have the Mailbox Import Export role assigned. You can correct this by running the below command:
New-ManagementRoleAssignment -Role "Mailbox Import Export" -User "user name or alias"Hope this helps,
Adam
I would like to use the “for each” method with a filter to select which mailboxes will be exported. This filter works:
get-mailbox -filter {CustomAttribute1 -eq "Name"}However, when I try to add the “for each) option like this:
foreach ($Mailbox in (get-mailbox -filter {CustomAttribute1 -eq "Norwood"}I get an error in the script editor telling me about missing ). Can you explain what I’ve done wrong?
Hi Kelley,
To export mailboxes using “foreach” command, you would have to use a script like the one below:
foreach ($AllMailboxes in (Get-Mailbox -Filter {CustomAttribute1 -eq "Name"})){
$Today=(get-date).tostring("yyyy-MM-dd_hh-mm-ss");
$PastDate=(get-date).AddMinutes(-X);
$FileName=$AllMailboxes.Alias+"_"+$Today+".pst";
New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox $AllMailboxes -ContentFilter {(Received -gt $PastDate)} -FilePath "Network share FQDN\$FileName"
}
Where the X parameter needs to be replaced with the value of your choice.
Additionally, if you have Exchange 2010, make sure you are assigned the Mailbox Import Export role. You can add that role using the following command:
New-ManagementRoleAssignment –Role “Mailbox Import Export” –User “Username”Hope this helps!
Adam
HI Adam,
How would you export mailboxes in a specific mailbox database to .pst?
Thanks
Chris
Hi Chris,
This would require a longer script. See this article by Steve Goodman for more: http://www.stevieg.org/2010/07/using-the-exchange-2010-sp1-mailbox-export-features-for-mass-exports-to-pst/
Best regards,
Adam
Hello Adam,
Can we restore a specific user mail box from a recovery database to a pst file?
I run below mentioned command but, i get error
[PS] C:\Mgrshr\PowerShell>New-MailboxExportRequest -Database recoveryDB -Mailbox “user” -FilePath path\mailbox.pst
A positional parameter cannot be found that accepts argument ‘-Database’.
+ CategoryInfo : InvalidArgument: (:) [New-MailboxExportRequest], ParameterBindingException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : PositionalParameterNotFound,New-MailboxExportRequest
IT is the same when i use -SourceDatabase instead of -Database.
Hi Jay,
No, you can’t. You would have to first restore the mailbox to a connected primary or archive mailbox (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff829875%28v=exchg.141%29.aspx) and then use the New-MailboxExportRequest command. The other option is to use an EDB to PST converter (I am unable to recommend a specific one).
Hope this helps,
Adam
I know New-MailboxExportRequest isn’t available for Exchange Online, but if you have a hybrid deployment, is it possible to run a script on the on-premises Exchange server and export mailboxes that reside in the cloud? Or would you need to move the mailbox to the on-premises database first?
Hi Matt,
If you wanted to use New-MailboxExportRequest, you’d have to move the mailboxes on-premises first.
Alternatives that don’t require moving mailboxes on-premises are:
1) eDiscovery: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn440164%28v=exchg.150%29.aspx
2) CodeTwo Backup for Office 365 (free for the first 30 days): https://www.codetwo.com/backup-for-office-365/?sts=4217
Hope this helps,
Adam
Hello Guys,
maybe you want to Export pst´s using SamAccountName from a Security Group…
foreach ($AllMailboxes in (Get-ADGroupMember “Security Group” | Select-Object SamAccountName)) { New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox $AllMailboxes.SamAccountName -FilePath “network share FQDN\$($AllMailboxes.SamAccountName).pst” }
Cheers
Hi Sebastian,
Thanks for the input!
(Hope you don’t mind – I put the ‘network share FQDN’ part of your script back in. WordPress tends to skip text when you e.g. put it inside angle brackets)
Best regards,
Adam
Hi,
I have two question to this article: 1. usually I create the archive in Outlook via Import/Export function and filter received on or before 31/12/2014 for example (all sent items have also the flag received). I run it and really rarely it appears to have less items in the PST as when I run a advanced search on the users mailbox and let count the items. So this would mean there was something incorrect with the export process. But how can I do this when I use the script? How to compare the amount of items.
2. I have created a PST via Outlook and via script. in the script-PST there are about 1800 more items than in the Outlook-PST with the same filter setup. What is the difference between the two processes?
Best regards
Torsten Kraft
Hi Torsten,
1. One way of verifying the export is to open the exported file in Outlook, right click the root folder, select Data File Properties…, Folder Size…. Then you can check if the numbers match up compared to the numbers in the original file. And if they don’t you immediately see which folder is the culprit.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the sizes and numbers reported on the client side. There are many reasons why these numbers may be incorrect, see these examples:
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/office/en-US/9e0ee745-d66e-4a46-b15b-af193d6ffdca/outlook-local-data-vs-server-data?forum=outlook
http://serverfault.com/questions/77770/exchange-mailbox-size-larger-on-server-than-on-client
2. First of all, there are the client-server differences mentioned in the forum threads I linked above. If you provide your Outlook and PS export setups, I might be able to say if anything affected the exports.
Best regards,
Adam
There is option for versioning and incremental backup: use contentfilter. Though the date syntax is pain and depends your cultural formatting. Do not remember to use date variables in filenames!
New-MailboxExportRequest -ContentFilter {(Received -lt ’03/13/2010′) -and (Received -gt ’03/13/2010′)} -Mailbox “SharedMailbox” -Name Requestname -FilePath \\ExServer1\Imports\Name.pst
Hi Bluebull,
Actually, to achieve the level of versioning that I was thinking of, you would have to schedule a script like the one below (rough draft – sorry about the quality) to run every X, where X is as short a period of time as possible:
foreach ($AllMailboxes in (Get-Mailbox)) { $Today=(get-date).tostring("yyyy-MM-dd_hh-mm-ss"); $PastDate=(get-date).AddMinutes(-X); $FileName=$AllMailboxes.Alias+"_"+$Today+".pst"; New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox $AllMailboxes -ContentFilter {(Received -gt $PastDate)} -FilePath "Network share FQDN\$FileName" }In my example the PSTs would contain data from X-minute time intervals, but since the aim is to save a version of an item after every change, you may even need X-second intervals. The drawbacks of this solution are huge disk space consumption, almost impossible forensics, and so on.
Best regards,
Adam
Hi Adam,
How would you modify the command if the share is password-protected?
Thanks,
Mark
Hi Mark,
Can you clarify what you mean by password-protected? Windows folders cannot be password protected in the standard sense (e.g. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-au/windows-vista/can-i-protect-a-shared-folder-with-a-password). As for rights to access the network share: the user who executes the
new-mailboxexportrequestcommand has to have read and write permissions to the folder.Hope this helps,
Adam
I did this before on Exchange 2007 or 2010, can’t remember. Does Exchange 2013 still require the computer running the powershell commands to be 32-bit? That was the issue I had last time. I had to create a new Win7 VM, connect to the clients VPN, then was able to install the Exchange Admin Tools and run the commands against an OU. Seemed to work well.
@Patil
(Sorry for the delay answering.) Not automatically. You would have to create and share the folders first and then use the below script to export the PSTs.
foreach ($AllMailboxes in (Get-Mailbox)) { New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox $AllMailboxes -FilePath “\\[server FQDN]\[folder layer]\$($AllMailboxes.Alias)\[PST filename].pst” }
@Blake
No, the 32-bit limitation has been gone since Exchange 2010. On Exchange 2007 you needed a 32-bit machine to install Exchange Management Tools, which were necessary to use the Export-Mailbox and Import-Mailbox cmdlets.
Hope this helps,
Adam
Can I modify script to export psts to their corresponding folder names.
foreach ($AllMailboxes in (Get-Mailbox)) { New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox $AllMailboxes -FilePath “\\\\$($AllMailboxes.Alias).pst” }
how i set up my microsoft outlook
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