How to Export Exchange 2007 Mailbox to PST

Summary: The guide takes you through the step-by-step process to export Exchange 2007 mailbox to PST by using the export-mailbox PowerShell commands, ExMerge utility (EMC), and advanced Exchange database (EDB) to PST converter tool. This blog covers steps to Export mailboxes to PST files in Exchange 2007 SP1, SP2, SP3.

Before Microsoft added PST export feature in Exchange 2007, ExMerge utility was used to export mailboxes to PST in Exchange server. However, with Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1) update, you can now export mailboxes from Exchange 2007 to PST by using Export-Mailbox PowerShell cmdlet.

The Export-Mailbox PowerShell cmdlet comes handy when you need to export mailboxes from Microsoft Exchange 2007 Server to Personal Folder or PST without any additional configuration or software. So, if you have Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 SP1 or previous versions installed, here are the methods, with step-by-step process, to export Exchange 2007 mailbox to PST.

Methods to Export Exchange 2007 Mailbox to PST

Below are a few methods that you can follow to export Exchange 2007 mailboxes to PST format. Although these methods can help export PST from Exchange 2007 database, these methods requires you to setup another machine in order to export PST. Further, these method have limitations, requires additional permissions and technical expertise to perform mailbox export to PST format. To avoid hassle and export multiple mailboxes from Exchange database to PST or directly to a Live Exchange server, you can install and use an EDB to PST converter software, such as Stellar Converter for EDB. 

Method 1: Export Mailbox to PST by using ExMerge

Follow this method if your Exchange 2007 is not updated with Service Pack 1 (SP1). To start, you must have another machine, apart from the Exchange server, as this will not work on the same machine where you have Exchange 2007 installed. This machine can be either a Windows XP/7 or Windows 10.

On this machine, you will need to install the Exchange System Management Tools for Exchange 2007, which is a requirement for ExMerge. Make sure to have ExMerge.exe and ExMerge.ini in the Exchange Server Bin Folder.

NOTE: You must give the Access right permission on the Exchange Server to the user account on the other machine.

Now, follow the given steps:

Step 1: Login to your local machine and Exchange server with user account that has admin rights. Make sure the machine is connected to same domain name server.

Step 2: Create a new Security Group in your Active Directory called ExMerge and add the local machine user to the group.

Step 3: From the Exchange Management Console (EMC), go to the Organization Configuration, right-click on the Action pane and click on Add Exchange Administrator.

Step 4: Add the group ExMerge and select Exchange View-Only Administrator role.

Step 5:  Complete the wizard. This will enable you to open and log into the Exchange Management Console. For this to take effect, you must restart the Exchange Server.

Alternatively, you can also perform the above steps by using the following PowerShell command,

Add-ExchangeAdministrator -Identity ‘domain.local/Users/ExMerge’ -Role ‘ViewOnlyAdmin’

We will need to give the ExMerge group the ‘Send As’ and ‘Receive AS’ permissions on the Mailbox Store by using the below PowerShell command

Get-MailboxDatabase -identity “SRV-001\First Storage Group\MailboxDatabase” | Add-ADPermission -user “domain\ExMerge” -ExtendedRights Receive-As, Send-As

After this, you should be able to export to PST by using the ExMerge.exe utility. For detailed steps, refer to this guide on ExMerge alternative.

NOTE: ExMerge has a 2 GB export limit. Thus, you can’t export large mailboxes with ExMerge. If you need to export large and multiple mailboxes from Exchange 2007 to PST, skip to Method 3.

Method 2: Export Exchange 2007 Mailbox to PST by using Export-Mailbox PowerShell Cmdlet

As mentioned earlier, if you have Exchange Server 2007 installed with SP1, you can export Exchange 2007 mailboxes to PST by using the Export-Mailbox PowerShell command.

Unlike ExMerge, it’s a more powerful and easier way to export Exchange mailbox to PST. It also overcomes the ExMerge limitations.

Pre-Requisites

1. Requires you to have another machine with Windows 7 or Windows Server 2003 R3 or Windows Server 2008 (32-bit version) installed
2. Download and install the Exchange Server 2007 Management Tools (32-bit)
3. Install Outlook 2003 SP2 or up (32-bit)
4. Grant Access rights to the user, which you are using to export the mailbox to PST. To do this, execute the following command in PowerShell,

Get-Mailbox –Identity <emailaddresstoexport> | Add-MailboxPermission–User <user logged in> -AccessRights FullAccess

Alternatively, you can

• Go into the mailbox using the Exchange Management Console
• Open Recipient Configuration and Mailbox
• Right-click on the mailbox to export and choose Manage Full Access Permissions
• Add the user you need to provide the Access rights

Once done, use the following command to export your mailbox to PST in Exchange 2007.

Export-Mailbox -Identity <emailaddresstoexport> -PSTFolderPath C:\PSTFiles\export.pst

This will export everything from the mailbox and save it in a PST file.

You can also add a number of filters by adding parameters, such as -IncludeFolders and -ExcludeFolders, to export only desired items or specific folders from the user mailbox to PST. However, the process is lengthy and typos can lead to errors. Also, you would need to execute the command multiple times, if you need to export several mailboxes from the Exchange 2007 server. It will require you to keep the machine running until the export is finished.

Moreover, you can’t see the progress or expected time to complete the export process. And if it gets stuck due to some error, you won’t even know. Another problem is that you cannot export mailbox to PST with disabled mailboxes. You must enable the mailboxes, temporarily, if you need to export them to PST.

Method 3: Use EDB to PST Converter Software

To overcome limitations of ExMerge and the PowerShell Export-Mailbox cmdlet, you can use a powerful and specialized EDB to PST converter software such as Stellar Converter for EDB. It is the best and hassle-free solution to export Exchange 2007 mailbox to PST.

All you need to do is,

• Install the software application
• Scan the Exchange 2007 EDB file that contains the mailboxes, which you want to export to PST
• Start exporting them and save as PST file

There are tons of filters and features that you can use to export certain mail items from specific mailboxes or export multiple mailboxes at once. This tool comes very handy when you want to migrate from Exchange 2007 to Office 365 or higher Exchange version. You can export in bulk and directly to a Live Exchange server or Office 365 itself.

Conclusion

If Exchange Server 2007 is not updated with SP1, then use exmerge to export mailboxes to PST. If you have Exchange Server 2007 installed with SP1, use Export-Mailbox PowerShell command. If you are not comfortable in executing Powershell commands, then you can also use Stellar Converter for EDB to export Exchange 2007 SP1, SP2, SP3 mailboxes to PST without any extra efforts.

You may also be interested to read how to export Exchange 2010 Mailbox to PST.