Summary: In this tutorial, we will discuss different approaches to export Exchange mailbox to PST. This contains manual ways, and your professional software which helps users to export Exchange 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, & SE (subscription edition) data.
Talking about Microsoft Exchange server, it is the database which stores important mailbox information like emails, contacts, calendars and tasks. On the other hand, PST also known as (Personal Storage Table) is used to store mailbox information from an Exchange server, which allows users to access that data via Microsoft Outlook.
Let’s go to the first section, where you will get to see multiple reasons why users tend to migrate their data from one Exchange server version to another.
Why to Backup Exchange Mailbox to PST?
There are various reasons to export Exchange mailbox to PST. Let’s read those points:
- To have a local backup of your crucial mailbox data
- In order to migrate data from an Exchange environment to other supported platform
- Maintain employee information who has left the organization
- Export content for investigation or eDiscovery purposes
- Archive legacy mailbox data to reduce the active mailbox size
- Save selected folders, dates, or mailbox items in PST format
- Open the exported mailbox data with the help of Microsoft Outlook
- You don’t have to connect to the original Exchange mailbox account
Also, check this blog, if you want to export archive mailbox to PST. Administrators can set up filters that specify which messages should be included in an export request.
Important Factors to Note Before Exporting
Prior to export, ensure that you have read the following criteria:
- Make sure you have the correct Exchange permissions for your export account
- Verify the destination has sufficient free space for the PST files
- For native exports, make sure to use a UNC network share that you have permissions for
- Determine whether you are using on-premises Exchange Server or Exchange Online
- Remember, your PST files do not exceed the 50 GB limit
Export Exchange Mailbox to PST Files – 3 Manual Ways
From here, we will describe three different methods to export Exchange data.
#1. Export Mailbox from Exchange Admin Center Method
You can export Exchange mailbox to PST by creating a mailbox export request through the Exchange admin center.
- Log in to the Exchange Admin Center with an account that has mailbox export permission
2. Go to Recipients > Mailboxes > More Options and select Export PST file
Microsoft only documented this process and it explain that an admin can configure it to export the primary mailbox contents for the user or their archive mailbox.
- Choose among the various available options:
- Export content from mailbox items
- You could also export the archive data
- Type the UNC path and filename where you want Exchange to create the PST.
For example:
\\ServerName\Export\user.pst
The Exchange Trusted Subsystem must have the correct read or write permissions on the network share.
- Run through the wizard and submit mailbox export request
Exchange processes the request using the Mailbox Replication Service. The process duration depends on the mailbox size and also the server performance.
#2. Export Exchange Mailbox to PST Via PowerShell
This is known as your command-line method to backup Exchange mailbox to PST, especially for administrators. Follow the below steps to execute:
1. We have to run the Exchange Management Shell as an Administrator
2. Next, run this command to export:
New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox [email protected] -FilePath “\\ServerName\Export\user. pst”
3. Now, to check the export status:
Get-MailboxExportRequest | Get-MailboxExportRequestStatistics
4. After that, you have to check if the request is in queue, in progress, completed, or failed status
5. Lastly, you can view, edit, pause, or cancel the request
#3. Backup Exchange Mailbox to PST Through eDiscovery
If users want to export specific data instead of a complete mailbox, then eDiscovery method can help in supported Exchange environments. It allows administrators to search the selected mailboxes with a filter option.
This method is useful for:
- Legal investigations
- Compliance requests
- Date-range exports
- Targeted mailbox searches
- Selected message reviews
Limitations of Using Manual Approaches
This built-in Exchange method works well for administrators, but it gets a bit complex for basic users to export Exchange mailbox to PST.
- You must have the appropriate Exchange permissions to export mailboxes
- A native export will require an appropriate network share folder
- It is not suitable for exporting large mailboxes
- Some users could find this process lengthy when they are dealing with commands
If you are exporting a large number of Exchange mailboxes, it’s suggested to use our advanced solution which will simplify this process.
Export Exchange Mailbox to PST Format Professionally
The above manual steps are good only when you have small data to export. But for administrators who need to export multiple mailboxes at once, use SysTools Exchange Export Tool. This software can export Exchange mailbox items from emails, contacts, & calendars to a PST file. It supports Exchange server SE, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, & 2007.
Software Steps to Securely Export Exchange Data in Bulk
1. Download and Run our software in your system.
2. First of all, choose Exchange as the source platform and PST as the destination platform.
3. On the same screen, under Workload selection, choose which categories you plan to export from Exchange.
4. With the Date Range filter option, you can export mailbox data during a specific time frame. Click on Next.
5. Complete all of the details about the Exchange server.
- Then add Admin Email, Password & some other information.
6. Click on the Validate button to confirm that the account has the required permissions.
7. These permissions should be granted to that source user, subject to validation. Click on Next.
8. From there you need to check the Destination folder path. This will be where your local machine keeps the mailbox items.
- First make sure that your folder path is NOT exceeding 20 or less characters.
9. Check the appropriate permissions and hit Next.
10. There are a few different ways that you can add users from the source account for processing on the users screen:
- Fetch Users – It is going to pull users from the Source domain.
- Import Users – This will allow you to import users via CSV.
- Download Template – Download a compliant template to use as an example in creating CSV files.
11. After it gets validated, click on the Start Export button to export Exchange mailbox to PST.
12. Finally, click on Download Report to generate the detailed analysis.
Also Read: How to Export Office 365 Mailbox to PST?
Final Words
There are different methods to export Exchange mailbox to PST. It depends on the file size and complexity of the export task. If the requirement is to use Microsoft’s native functionality or simply export a set of search results only, then manual methods is good. But, it comes with certain limitations. To avoid this, you can use our automated solution to backup bulk data safely in popular formats.