Published on - January 19, 2018 Export EDB to Outlook PST 2016, 2013 and 2010

Unlike other mail servers, MS Exchange Server (EDB) is one of the most reliable and widely used platform which helps users to store their essential messages and other data items such as contacts, calendars, etc. It has different ways to store messages in an Exchange platform such as Priv.edb and Pub.edb. Wherein, Priv.edb files save private data of user mailboxes and Pub.edb files help to store public or shared data of user mailboxes. However, in many occasions, it becomes a necessity for an administrator to export the entire mailboxes which are stored in Exchange Server into MS Outlook PST 2016, 2013 and 2010.

Reasons – Why one should export EDB files to Outlook PST?

As we all know that data is the most sensitive element for any organization which creates devastation for an organization in the case of losing any essential data. Hence, it is a very healthy practice if one takes a regular backup of data, be it Exchange mailbox data or any other. Many administrators in the organizations take Exchange backup on a regular basis to avoid any kind of data loss situation. Besides this, many users also want to access Exchange data in MS Outlook email client. Though, there might be numerous other reasons that make administrators/users to move over Outlook PST 2016, 2013 and 2010. Few of them are discussed below:

1. Exchange Server Downtime: During Exchange Server downtime, user mailboxes become inaccessible. Hence, to avoid such situations, one need to export EDB files to PST.
2. Hardware failure: To avoid data loss in the case of hardware failure might be the other reason for exporting EDB mailboxes to PST.
3. Storage capacity: Exchange mailboxes have a less storage space, so when the size of user mailboxes exceeds, it starts behaving abnormally.
4. Over-sized EDB files: Increased size of Exchange mailboxes might be the other reason that compel users to move EDB files to PST.

There are various manual and professional solutions are available to export EDB files to Outlook PST. However, manual method requires some commands to be executed which is very difficult to perform (especially for novice users).

Export EDB mailboxes to PST 2016, 2013 and 2010 using PowerShell Commands:

Note: Before performing migration tasks using PowerShell commands, one need to have the rights to carry out the import/export process. To do so, type and execute the below given command in PowerShell:

New-ManagementRoleAssignment -Role “Mailbox Import Export” -User sample (here, sample is the account name to whom you want to provide the import/export rights.)

Procedure 1. Move entire EDB mailboxes to Outlook PST to a particular variable like:

$ VariableMailboxes = Get-Mailbox

Where VariableMailboxes denotes as a variable. Now, transfer entire Exchange mailboxes to MS Outlook PST by executing following command:

$VariableMailboxes | %{$_|New-MailboxExportRequest-FilePath\\\\$($_.Alias111).pst}

Procedure 2. You can follow other manual procedure to export EDB mails to Outlook PST:

$Mailboxes=Get-Mailbox and then, for each ($Mailbox){New-MailboxExportRequest-Mailbox $Mailbox -FilePath”\\\\$($Mailbox.Alias111).pst”}

Disadvantages/Drawbacks of using PowerShell command:

However, there are numerous drawbacks that a user might have faced while performing above manual procedures to export EDB to PST 2016, 2013 and 2010. Few of them are discussed here:

1. Corrupt Exchange mailboxes cannot be recover using PowerShell commands.
2. Data corruption chances are higher if commands are not executed properly.
3. The process is very tedious and lengthy. The non-technical user can not perform above tasks successfully.

Professional solution to export EDB to Outlook PST 2019, 2016, 2013 and 2010:

Though, above manual procedure are free to perform, but, for novice users, it is very difficult to execute those commands as it require to have technical knowledge. Therefore, to export EDB mailboxes to Outlook PST 2016, 2013 and 2010, a third party EDB to PST professional solution will be the best choice. It converts entire EDB mailboxes to PST 2019, 2016, 2013, and 2010 in just a matter of minutes.

Conclusion: All the above methods ensure the migration of EDB files to Outlook PST 2016, 2013 and 2010. Although, manual procedures are more complex and needs technical knowledge to execute above commands. Therefore, it is advised to opt for a professional solution to perform this migration task.