How to Import and Export Exchange Mailbox to PST?

Summary: Exchange administrators may need to export mailboxes from the Exchange server to PST for various reasons, such as backup, mailbox archiving, or migrating the mailbox to another Exchange database, server, or Office 365. Microsoft Exchange allows administrators to export mailboxes from Exchange database (EDB) files to PST via Exchange Admin Center (EAC) and Exchange Management Shell (EMS).

However, these proprietary utilities require additional roles and permissions to work. Besides, they use the Exchange server resources, which puts more load on the server and may cause downtime. Also, these utilities can’t export mailboxes from an offline Exchange database, which is a downside when you need to export mailboxes from an offline database or migrate the mailboxes from a decommissioned or outdated Exchange server. In such cases, you can use a reliable third-party EDB to PST converter software, such as Stellar Converter for EDB to import and export Exchange mailbox to PST.

The software can export multiple mailboxes from both online or offline simultaneously to corresponding PST files. You can also export or import the mailboxes from offline Exchange EDB files directly to a live Exchange server or Office 365.

Methods to Export and Import Exchange Mailbox to PST

Below we’ve discussed steps to import and export Exchange mailboxes to PST by using the Exchange Admin Center and Exchange Management Shell. The Exchange Admin Center is GUI-based but provides limited options when it comes to exporting the mailboxes to PST.

On the other hand, Exchange Management Shell is a command-line-based tool that allows you to import or export mailboxes using the New-MailboxExportRequest and New-MailboxImportRequest cmdlets. You can add various parameters with cmdlets to export multiple or specific mailboxes to PST, filter mailboxes and their content, include/exclude certain folders, and do much more. The steps are as follows:

Assign Mailbox Import Export Role

To import or export Exchange mailbox to PST, the user account must have the Mailbox Import Export role assigned. This role is not assigned by default to anyone, including the administrator.

To assign this role, open Exchange Management Shell and then execute the following cmdlet:

New-RoleGroup -Role "Mailbox Import-Export Management" -User <USERNAME>

For instance,

New-RoleGroup -Role "Mailbox Import-Export Management" -User Administrator

To check users who are assigned with the Mailbox Import Export role, execute the following cmdlet:

Get-ManagamentRoleAssignment –Role “Mailbox Import Export” | fl RoleAssigneeName

Export Exchange Mailbox to PST via EAC

After assigning the required Mailbox Import Export role, open the Exchange Admin Center and then follow these steps to export the Exchange mailbox to PST.

• Navigate to Recipients > Mailboxes and click … (More options).
• From the options, choose Export to a PST file.
  
• Select the Exchange mailbox you want to export to PST and then choose Export only the contents of this mailbox. To export the mailbox’s archive, choose Export only the contents of this mailbox’s archive option and then click ‘Next.’
  
• Enter the UNC path ending with PST file name and click ‘Next.’
  
• Finally, click Send email to the mailbox below when the .pst file has been exported checkbox and choose the user account to whom you want to notify. Then click Finish.
  
• This will create an Exchange mailbox export request and export the selected mailbox to PST at the mentioned UNC path.

Import PST into Exchange Mailbox via EAC

To import a PST file into Exchange mailbox via EAC, follow these steps:

• Upload the PST file to the UNC path location.
• Then navigate to Recipients > Mailboxes and click … (More options).
• From the options, choose Import PST.
  
• Select the Exchange mailbox where you want to import the PST file and choose Import to this mailbox. To import the PST into the mailbox’s archive, select Import to this mailbox’s archive option and then click ‘Next.’
  
  

• This will import the mail items from the mentioned PST file into the selected user mailbox. Enter the UNC path location where the PST file is located and click ‘Next’
  
  
• Finally, click Send email to the mailbox below when the .pst file has been imported checkbox and then choose the user account to whom you want to notify. Then click Finish.
  This will create an Exchange mailbox export request and export the selected mailbox to PST at the mentioned UNC path.

Export Exchange Mailbox to PST using Exchange Management Shell

1. To export a single Exchange mailbox to PST, use the New-MailboxExportRequest cmdlet in EMS.

New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox John -FilePath

\\EXSRV\PSTFileFolder\John_backup.pst

2. To export multiple mailboxes to PST, enter the following cmdlets (one at a time):

$Export = Get-Mailbox

$Export|%{$_|New-MailboxExportRequest -FilePath

\\EXSRV\PSTFileFolder\$($.File).pst

3. To check the progress of mailbox export request, execute the following PowerShell command in EMS:

Get-MailboxExportRequest

Import PST into Exchange Mailbox using Exchange Management Shell

To import a PST file into the Exchange mailbox, use the following New-MailboxImportRequest cmdlet:

New-MailboxImportRequest -Mailbox ‘Name of Mailbox’ -FilePath ‘UNC-path of the PST-file’

For instance,

New-MailboxImportRequest -Mailbox John -FilePath

\\EXSRV\PSTFileFolder\John_backup.pst

To check the import request progress, execute the following command in EMS:

Get-MailboxImportRequest ‘Mailbox Import Request name’ | fl

Learn more about New-MailboxImportRequest and New-MailboxExportRequest PowerShell cmdlets to import and export Exchange mailboxes by using various parameters. 

Conclusion

Although Microsoft Exchange provides options to import and export Exchange mailbox to PST, they don’t work if the Exchange mailbox database is offline. Besides, EAC features limited import and export options, and Exchange Management Shell requires a certain level of expertise and proficiency to run.

To overcome these issues and challenges, you can use Stellar Converter for EDB software. The software not only helps you export mailboxes from the offline database but also allows you to search, filter, and preview mailboxes and items before exporting to PST. You can export multiple mailboxes to PST or Office 365 and Live Exchange server, simultaneously. The software also helps minimize downtime and avoid load on the server.