Admins export mailboxes to PST files in the Exchange Server mainly to back up data or to migrate mailboxes to free space in the Exchange database. Other reasons include adherence to legal compliance, protection of email data, or archiving obsolete data, and so on. The question may arise, “Why export to PST”?
Well! PST is a preferred file for export, as it provides an easy-to-access and native archive without the need for an active Exchange Server. Besides, reduced storage and easy restoration further make them a common mode to host the Exchange mailboxes. Delving deeper into this topic, here are some widely used methods to export Exchange Mailboxes to PST files.
Things you should know before doing the Export
Here are a few pointers you need to know before initiating the export task.
- The export procedure requires around 5 minutes for completion
- The mailbox export to PST file should have a UNC network share (\ <Server>\ <Share>\ or \ <LocalServerName>\c$)
- The Exchange Trusted Subsystem security group needs the Read/Write permission to the network share. In case of no permission, you will get errors when trying to export mailboxes to PST.
- To create an export request in the on-premises Exchange environment, you can use EAC or EMS. However, you can use only EMS to run the following requests.
- Get-MailboxExportRequest: View the status of the MailboxExportRequest
- Set-MailboxExportRequest: Modify the incomplete MailboxExportRequest
- Suspend-MailboxExportRequest: Suspend the in-progress MailboxExportRequest
- Remove-MailboxExportRequest: Delete the mailbox export request
- You must have the requisite permissions to perform the mailbox export request
Adding a role to a role group
To Export mailbox to PST, you need to have the permission assigned for the Mailbox Import Export role. By default, it is not assigned to any role group, so you have to add it manually. Here is how you can do it through EAC.
- Log in to EAC with your admin credentials
- Click Permissions > Admin Roles
- Choose the role group to which you want to add a role and click Edit
- In the resulting Roles section, choose the roles you wish to include in the role group.
- Click Save after you finish adding roles
Export Exchange Mailboxes to PST Files: Different methods
After ensuring the addition of the role in the role group, you may proceed with the export tasks. You can use Exchange Admin Center (EAC) to export mailboxes to PST, but this method is applicable only for on-premises Exchange Environments. However, there is no option to export the Exchange mailbox to PST in Exchange Online (or Microsoft 365). Instead, you can do it through the Microsoft Purview eDiscovery tool. Besides, Exchange Management Shell can also help to create a mailbox export request to PST. Keeping our focus on the on-premises environment only, let’s know about these easy methods in detail.
Creating a Mailbox Export Request using EAC
These steps will export your mailbox to a PST file through the Exchange Admin Center in the on-premises Exchange environment.
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- Open EAC with your login credentials
- Navigate to Recipients > Mailboxes
- Click More Options (three dots …)
- Click Export to a PST file
- In the Export to a PST file wizard, select the source mailbox and choose from any of the following options, and click Next:
- Export only the contents of this mailbox
- Export only the contents of this mailbox’s archive
- Next, provide the UNC path and the filename of the target .pst file and click Next.
- In the resulting last page, you will see the option Send email to the mailbox below when the .pst file has been exported. Leave it checked or unchecked as per your suitability.
- Click Finish
Creating a mailbox export request through the Exchange Management Shell (EMS)
Here is the syntax to create a mailbox export request by using EMS.
New-MailboxExportRequest [-Name <UniqueName>] -Mailbox <TargetMailboxIdentity> -FilePath <UNCPathToPST> [-IsArchive] [-SourceRootFolder <MailboxFolder>] [-TargetRootFolder <PSTFolder>] [-IncludeFolders <MailboxFolder1>,<MailboxFolder2>…] [-ExcludeFolders <MailboxFolder1>,<MailboxFolder2>…] [-ContentFilter <Filter>] [-Priority <PriorityValue>]
Here is an example:
New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox “John Victor” -FilePath \\SERVER02\PSTFiles\JVictor.pst
- Source mailbox: John Victor
- Target .pst file: \SERVER01\PSTFiles\JVictor.pst
Limitations of manual Export of Exchange Mailboxes to PST files
Doing the Exchange mailbox to PST through manual methods has numerous benefits. For example, you can do direct migration from previous Exchange server versions, and you can filter content when exporting through PowerShell. However, they have several restrictions as well, which outweigh their benefits. Here are a few of them.
- Require in-depth technical detail
- The request works for only a few mailboxes
- There is always a possibility of a corrupt PST file
- There is no way to secure a PST file on the move through encryption
- Migration happens at a slow speed
- There is no log or migration report
- Your Exchange database is always at risk of losing data
To overcome these hassles, admins often prefer using the EDB to PST converter software to export Exchange mailbox to PST. These tools are effective in saving your time while delivering favorable results without loss of data. Here is more on these applications.
Using the EDB to PST converter software to Export Mailbox to PST
Several third-party applications are available online to help you export Exchange Mailboxes to PST files. These tools ensure a settled edge over the manual methods owing to the numerous benefits they accompany:
- Export multiple mailboxes at once to PST files
- Recover inaccessible, offline, or dismounted mailboxes from EDB files to PST
- Migrate mailboxes from a different Exchange Server to PST
- Convert Unicode EDB files into PST
- Select and save Public Folders into PST
Amid all the related software available online, Stellar Converter for EDB can prove an effective option to fulfill all these requirements, enabling hassle-free export of Exchange Mailbox to PST.
Conclusion
You may need to export Exchange mailboxes to PST for various reasons. For example, you would need to clean the server space, migrate mailboxes, comply with legal requirements, and so on. Before proceeding with the export due to any of these or some other reason, make sure you know the minute details about the export. To name a few, you should have a UNC network share and possess the requisite permissions.
You can create a mailbox export request in the on-premises Exchange environment through EAC or EMS, but to proceed with later operations, like view, modify, suspend, or delete the mailbox request, EAC will not work. For this job, the PowerShell cmdlets in the EMS environment would help you out. Nevertheless, you will not find any method to export Exchange mailbox to PST in Microsoft 365 or Exchange Online.
Instead, it will require the use of the Microsoft Purview eDiscovery tool. To perform the on-premises export, you have to follow a few simple steps. Likewise, the New-MailboxExportRequest helps you to perform the export task through EMS. These methods can help achieve success, but they come with certain restrictions.
You may face several common issues like data loss, slow migration speed, no migration log, or a corrupt PST file. Above all, you must possess in-depth technical knowledge to perform these operations. To get away with these hassles, admins mostly prefer using EDB to PST converter software to export Exchange mailbox to PST. Notably, Stellar Converter for EDB is widely embraced software in this context.
