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We are running a stand-alone instance of Exchange 2007 without replication of any kind. We do have nightly backups. A user deleted a public folder, and I need to restore that from one of our full database backups (I have the .edb file).

I have tried creating another storage group, but when I try to create another public folder database, I get an error stating there can only be one public folder database. I also tried using the Recovery Storage Group, but learned that is only usable for mailbox restores. My next thought was to spin up a new Exchange VM and somehow copy it over from there, but I'm not sure if that's best...or how exactly to do it.

What are my best options?

bradpcm
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  • First, it's important, what tool do you use for the backup ? – yagmoth555 Jun 25 '15 at 16:00
  • We use Ahsay Online Backup Manager (www.ahsay.com). I have already restored the Public Folder Database .edb file from our backups. I haven't done anything with the file yet, though. – bradpcm Jun 25 '15 at 17:25
  • SOLUTION: We finally ended up using [EdbMails](http://www.edbmails.com) EDB to PST Recovery Tool. (No, this isn't an ad/spam link.) Since we had the .edb file from backup, we used this tool to open that .edb file and copy out just the folder we needed. The relatively low cost of this tool paid for itself in one use with the time it saved us. We were able to keep our production Exchange online during business hours and restore what we needed in about 30 minutes. Now we have this tool to use with any future restores we may need to do. Other tools have similar claims, but I know this one works. – bradpcm Apr 20 '16 at 12:37
  • Ontrack, Quest & Stellar Toolkit for Exchange are great tools. I've done a lot of exchange database recovery with following tool, ontrack is expensive but reliable. – Shelly Nov 29 '18 at 06:24

2 Answers2

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Are you still within the deleted item retention period for the folder? If so you should be able to restore it without having to resort to your backups.

Right-Click the parent of the folder that has been delete and select "Recover Deleted Items", find the deleted folder and hit the "Recover Selected Items" button.

There are more details instructions on Microsoft Technet

Mike1980
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  • Looks like our retention period is set to 14 days. I don't see "Recover Deleted Items" when I right-click in Public Folder Mgmt Console or in Outlook. We could be beyond 14 days. They're not sure when it was deleted. – bradpcm Jun 25 '15 at 17:26
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The method I used to Recover the Public Folder Database

Restore Exchange to a different location from a backup using Windows Server Backup.

Open the Exchange Management Console.

In the left menu thing navigate to Microsoft Exchange > Server Configuration > Mailbox

In the center it will have the Server list. Select the Server Below where you selected the Exchange Server select the public folder database you want to restore.

Then you need to dismount the database by selecting Dismount Database on the right hand actions panel.

Now the Public Folder Database is dismounted select the Properties button just under where you selected to dismount the database. At the bottom there is a check box that says “This database can be overwritten by a restore” check that box and press apply. Allow restore of public folder database.

Now open windows explorer and go to the directory that you have restored the exchange database to and find the public folder database. It is usully located under <Drive Letter>:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Mailbox\<Storage Group Name>\ but it should tell you the path under database file path in EMC. Copy the restored copy of the Public Folder Database.

Navigate to the public folder database that you just dismounted. Rename the original database (I usually just put a .old at the end of the filename).

Paste the restored Public Folder Database file and make sure the name is the same.

Now go back to Exchange Management Console and select re-mount.

If Mounting The Public Folder Database Fails

Open the Exchange Management Shell (the powershell command for exchange) Navigate to the folder that your public folder database is in Repair the database by running the command (replacing <PFD name> with the name of your public folder database file name):

eseutil -p <PFD name>.edb

Open the Exchange Management Console and mount the public folder database.

From : http://heresjaken.com/restore-public-folder-database-edb-file-exchange-server/

Neil
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yagmoth555
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  • Thanks for the detail. However, in my case, I only need a single folder restored out of the entire database. Since business has been continuing for weeks, I cannot overwrite our current database. – bradpcm Jun 25 '15 at 19:18
  • @bradpcm http://m.msexchange.org/articles-tutorials/exchange-server-2007/high-availability-recovery/Working-Recovery-Storage-Groups-Exchange-2007.html – yagmoth555 Jun 25 '15 at 21:50
  • thanks, but Recovery Storage Groups are only for mailboxes. They do not work with public folders. – bradpcm Jun 26 '15 at 11:44
  • @bradpcm the problem is the tool didn't done a granular backup :| can you put your server in maintenance, dismount the current edb, mount the backed up edb and export the public folder content in pst. after you remount the correct edb and you re-import ? (never did that, but I try to a workaround) – yagmoth555 Jun 26 '15 at 15:55
  • We ended up using [EdbMails EDB to PST Recovery Tool](http://www.edbmails.com/). See my comment on original question for details. Thanks for your persistent help on this! – bradpcm Apr 20 '16 at 12:37
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    A note on this answer: you can't restore only Exchange to a different location, it needs Active Directory to work; you'll need to restore at least a domain controller too. – Massimo Jul 31 '20 at 13:11