Problem : Users typically delete items permanently and need to have them restored.
In addition, sometimes you delete a mailbox, assuming a user is not
returning, and when they do you have to restore that mailbox. What is an
easy solution for handling these matters?
Solution : Although not true disasters, these are items that usually come under the
disaster recovery discussion because there is a point of no return
where an item or a mailbox has to be restored from a backup. A
backup/restore is definitely within the category of recovery.To mitigate the amount of frustration that an
administrator deals with over deleted items and deleted mailboxes, we
have to configure Deleted Item Retention and Deleted Mailbox Retention. The default on items is 14 days, and on mailboxes, it is 30 days.
In the event that you do need to restore a deleted message or mailbox, how would you go about doing it?
Deleted Item Recovery
To recover a deleted item or assist a user in recovering his own deleted items, perform the following:
1. | Open Outlook 2007.
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2. | Select the Deleted Items folder.
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3. | Select Tools, and then click Recover Deleted Items.
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4. | Locate the message you want to restore. Select the message and click Recover Selected Items.
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When you restore the item,
you will not see it back in your Inbox. It will restore back to your
Deleted Items folder. If it is important, you might want to move it to
another folder.
Note
If the message that
needs to be restored has been permanently deleted beyond the 14-day
mark, you have to first make a decision. Is the individual requesting
the restoration worth the time and effort it might take to locate and
restore the message? If she is, you might ask her directly, “Is the
message you are looking for something that is irreplaceable and
absolutely necessary to have restored?” If the answer is yes to both
questions, consider some of the other backup restoration solutions.
Deleted Mailbox Recovery
When you delete a
mailbox, you essentially disconnect it from the user’s AD user account.
If you delete the AD account, the mailbox is disconnected automatically
from the deleted account. That disconnected mailbox is placed in the
Disconnected Mailbox section under the Recipient Configuration work
center. You can reconnect that mailbox (as long as you do so prior to
the 30-day deleted mailbox retention time expiring).
To connect a mailbox with a new account or with an existing AD user account, perform the following:
1. | Open the Exchange Management Console (EMC).
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2. | From the Navigation Tree, expand the Recipient Configuration work center and click Disconnected Mailbox.
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3. | Locate and select the mailbox you wish to connect.
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4. | From the Actions pane, select Connect to open the wizard.
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5. | Initially,
you are taken to the Introduction screen, where you are asked to choose
the mailbox type: User, Room, Equipment, or Linked. Make your choice
and select Next.
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6. | Next, you are presented with the Mailbox Settings screen, shown in Figure 1. Here you can choose the following:
- Matching User— Select the Browse button to locate a user object in AD that should match the mailbox.
- Existing User—
If you select this option, you can click Browse to locate a list of
users that do not currently have connected mailboxes associated with
them.
- Alias— Supply an alias name.
- Managed Folder Mailbox Policy— Select Browse to select a policy.
- Exchange ActiveSync Mailbox Policy— Select Browse to select a policy.
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7. | After your options have been selected, click Next.
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8. | After the wizard completes, select Finish.
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