In Exchange Server, you may need to export a mailbox to PST file for various reasons, such as routine maintenance, for archiving, when an employee leaves the organization, or before performing a mailbox clean-up. Sometimes, when you try to export mailboxes to PST file using the Exchange Admin Center (EAC) or using the New-MailboxExportRequest cmdlet without the -DomainController parameter, you get an error message – The Operation couldn’t be Performed because Object ‘Username’ couldn’t be Found on Domain.corp.
You may also get the above error when trying to uninstall an Exchange Server.
In this blog, we will discuss how to resolve the Operation couldn’t be Performed because Object ‘Username’ couldn’t be Found on Domain.corp error.
Why does the Object couldn’t be found on the Domain.corp Error Occur?
When an operation is initiated from one domain (e.g., the parent) that attempts to access a user object residing in another domain (e.g., a child domain) and the operation doesn’t correctly reference the domain where the user object exists, the system may fail to locate the object, resulting in this error.
Resolving the Operation couldn’t be Performed because Object couldn’t be found on the Domain.corp Error
You can follow the below methods to resolve the error, depending on the scenario.
1. Run New-MailboxExportRequest with DomainController Parameter
If you’re getting this error when exporting the mailbox to PST, you can use the New-MailboxExportRequest PowerShell cmdlet with the DomainController parameter to avoid this error (see the below example).
New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox "User" -FilePath \\server\PSTExport\export.pst -DomainController <DomainController>
In the above command,
- Adding the -DomainController switch enables you to explicitly provide the name of domain controller of the active directory where the user resides.
- The export process will access the specified domain controller to get the user information and export the mailbox.
However, to export the mailboxes to PST, your user account must have the Mailbox Import Export role assigned to it. Additionally, the user account also have the read/write permissions for the folder where the converted PST is to be stored.
After running theNew-MailboxExportRequest cmdlet, you can use the Get-MailboxExportRequest cmdlet to view the status of export request.
2. Use an EDB to PST Converter Software
As an alternative, you can use Stellar Converter for EDB –a specialized EDB to PST converter software to export Exchange mailboxes to PST. This software can directly export the mailboxes from the EDB file (hosted or offline) to PST files without the need of a running Exchange Server. It doesn’t require any additional permissions. The software can process up to 8 mailboxes simultaneously for faster conversion. It converts the mailboxes and other EDB file items, including public folders to PST files while keeping their original format intact. The software can also export the mailboxes and other EDB file items to a live Exchange Server or Microsoft 365.
3. Install the Exchange Server Security Updates
If you are getting this error while uninstalling the Exchange Server 2019 or 2016 with January 2023 updates, you need to install the June 2023 security updates to fix the issue. You can refer to the links given below for detailed process:
However, if you are unable to install these updates, you can update the listed registry key for the given program and versions of cumulative update (CU) on Exchange servers with the January 2023 security updates installed. Here’s how to update the registry.
For Exchange Server 2019 CU12
Subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ExchangeServer\v15\Setup
Key: “MsiBuildMinor”=dword:00000007
PowerShell command:
Set-ItemProperty -Path HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ExchangeServer\v15\Setup -Name "MsiBuildMinor" -Value 7 -Type DWord
For Exchange Server 2019 CU11
Subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ExchangeServer\v15\Setup
Key: “MsiBuildMinor”=dword:00000005
PowerShell command:
Set-ItemProperty -Path HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ExchangeServer\v15\Setup -Name "MsiBuildMinor" -Value 5 -Type DWord
For Exchange Server 2016 CU23
Subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ExchangeServer\v15\Setup
Key: “MsiBuildMinor”=dword:00000006
PowerShell command:
Set-ItemProperty -Path HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ExchangeServer\v15\Setup -Name "MsiBuildMinor" -Value 6 -Type DWord
Conclusion
You can get The Operation couldn’t be Performed because Object ‘Username’ couldn’t be Found on Domain.corp error when trying to uninstall the Exchange Server 2019 or 2016. You may also get the error when trying to export the mailboxes to PST using the Exchange Admin Center (EAC) or PowerShell cmdlets. To resolve the error in the first scenario, you can install the June 2023 security updates and then uninstall the Exchange Server or you can update the registry key.
For the second scenario, you can export the mailboxes using New-MailboxExportRequest PowerShell cmdlet with the – DomainController switch. Alternatively, you can use Stellar Converter for EDB to export mailboxes to PST. With this software, you can scan the offline or hosted EDB file and export the mailboxes to PST or a live Exchange Server.
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