The effective way to find out if a Exchange Server database is recoverable is to try the demo version of Recovery for Exchange Server on it. Visit the Download Demo page to get a free copy of the demo.

Product specifications with lists of items recovered and not recovered is available at the Product Information page.

Always backup your original corrupted Exchange Server database before proceeding with any recovery activity!

I have tried the demo. How do I decide whether to purchase the full version of Recovery for Exchange Server?

You can decide this by evaluating the results of demo recovery. The demo version recovers only several messages per mailbox from the corrupted Exchange Server database. The others are left blank. File attachments (if any) are not recovered.

If due to file damage an entire object (such as a folder) has been lost, the full version of Recovery for Exchange Server will not be able to recover it.

For more information see the Recovery for Exchange Server online help.

What is the difference between Standard License and Enterprise License?

The license type refers to the number of copies to be used simultaneously. Standard license is intended for small business and individual use. One license allows one installation of Recovery for Exchange Server and servicing an internal domain up to 50 computers. Primary user of the computer where the Recovery for Exchange Server is installed may have another copy on their portable computer for exclusive usage. Please note that using Standard version of Recovery for Exchange Server limits you to 16Gb of Exchange Server databases and no more than 100 mailboxes to be recovered!

Enterprise license gives the right to install two copies of Recovery for Exchange Server and servicing an internal domain of 250 computers total. Also Enterprise license of Recovery for Exchange Server does not have any limitation on Exchange Server databases to be recovered.

Both types of license do not have any limitations on the number and authorship of the Exchange Server databases to be recovered.

Please, note that to use Recovery for Exchange Server in data recovery service you have to obtain the annually renewed Franchise license!

See License Information page for full disclosure and assistance.

Why do recovered files contain less data than the original Exchange Server database?

This is normal. The damaged parts of your Exchange Server database will convert to zero size on output. The other common reason of file size decrease is when some of features of the original Exchange Server database are not supported and therefore appropriate data is absent from the resulting files.

Demo-recovered files mostly consist of demo placeholders than actual data from the original Exchange Server database.

I'm getting an Internal Program Error while using Recovery for Exchange Server. What can be done?

Please, run Recovery for Exchange Server in a logged mode and contact our support team with detailed description of the problem and the log file.

To create log file, please hold the SHIFT key while clicking the Recover button on the toolbar or selecting the Recover: item in the main menu. You can also press CTRL+SHIFT+R after launching the program.

I'm getting an error message that there's not enough free space. Is there a workaround for this?

Yes, if there is other drive with free space available (2-3 times of the original Exchange Server database size). Fix the Windows environment variable to use it. Do the following:

Open System in Control Panel.
On the Advanced tab, click Environment Variables, then click the name of the user variable (TEMP or TMP) you want to change.
Click Edit to change value.
Set path to the location where temporary data should be stored (e.g., e:\).
Restart computer for changes to take in effect.
Run the software again.

You can also use the special environment variable called OFFICERECOVERY_TMP to set the directory where Recovery for Exchange Server should store its temporary files. Use the method shown above to add/edit environment variable.

Is there any way to run Recovery for Exchange Server from command line (through Windows Start -> Run menu)?

Yes, you can easily run Recovery for Exchange Server from command line and use it in your batch sceneries. The format for this call is:

esr.exe <original filename with path> "<path to directory to store the recovered file(s)>"

(without angle brackets).

Please, note that the directory for recovered file(s) should be created before starting the recovery!

Command line mode supports patterns ‘*’ (replaces group of symbols) and ‘?’ (replaces one symbol).

I am running Recovery for Exchange Server for several hours now, but haven't received any result yet. What is the problem with?

The recovery procedure is a relatively time-consuming process, which depends strongly on the original database corruption range, CPU power and RAM amount (1GB+ recommended). For big files it might take several hours or even days to proceed. Expect this if your Exchange Server database is larger than 30Gb.

It is recommended to run the Recovery for Exchange Server in a logged mode. You can monitor the status of the process with the help of log file: if it is being updated constantly, the file is being processed. If, vice versa, there's no activity registered for more than 5-10 minutes, the software might be caught in loop. In this case, please, contact our support team for further instructions.

To create log file, please hold the SHIFT key while clicking the Recover button on the toolbar or selecting the Recover: item in the main menu. You can also press CTRL+SHIFT+R after launching the program.

After completing the recovery of the corrupted Exchange Server database several .PST files and a new directory called 'M' have been created. What is the purpose of these items?

The recovery results are stored in several different ways depending on the Exchange Server database type being recovered.

If the personal mailboxes are being recovered, Recovery for Exchange Server creates several folders, one per mail user, and stores the personal mail there in the standard .PST file.

If the recovered .PST file size exceeds the 1,5Gb limit it is being split into several independent .PST files named subsequently (e.g., admin.pst, admin1.pst, admin2.pst, etc.).

If the Exchange Server database with public folders is being recovered, Recovery for Exchange Server recreates in folder \M\ the whole database hierarchy folder structure. The recovered items from public folders are saved as standard .MSG files.

What is the procedure for recreating mail database using .PST files and 'M' directory?

To import data from .PST files, use the free ExMerge utility by Microsoft Corp. About ExMerge on Microsoft.com:

To move data from ‘M’ folder to the Public Directory, do the following:

Connect to any of the Exchange Server mailboxes using Microsoft Outlook
After being connected, you get access to the public folders. Drug-and-drop items from 'M' folder in the appropriate public directory of the Exchange Server database

data recovery software for corrupted Microsoft Exchange® databases

data recovery software for corrupted Microsoft Exchange^® databases