Can I perform a recovery with just the Exchange databases, but no logs or backups?

I had an Active Directory corrupted, and the name of the domain in the store was recorded with the name "." (dot). I have a Windows 2000 Small Business Server SP3 with Exchange SP2. I don't have the Exchange logs or backups, only its databases. Is it possible to write the correct domain name in the Exchange databases and mount them again?

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You might be able to recover your data if you follow general disaster recovery guidelines for Exchange. The high-level steps are as follows:

  1. Install a "recovery server" in a new Active Directory forest. Do not install it into your production forest.

  2. Install Exchange on the recovery server. Make sure you use the same organization name as your production organization.

  3. Recover the database to an administrative group (AG) in which the legacyExchangeDN values match the legacyExchangeDN values from the original production AG. Have a look at Microsoft Knowledge Base 324606, XADM: How to Use Legacydn.exe to Correct Exchange Organization or Administrative Group Names.

  4. Name the restore storage group and database to match your production storage group and database names.

  5. Export the data to .pst files, and then import the .pst files into new mailboxes after you've rebuilt your production environment.

This was first published in July 2003

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