Removing Public Folder Databases

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 will reach end of support on April 11, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.

Applies to: Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP3

This topic lists the steps that are required to remove a public folder database. Also included are links to the detailed topics that will help you complete the task.

The process for removing a public folder database requires several steps. Because this process is different if you are removing the last public folder database in your organization, consider the following scenarios before you begin:

• Removing a public folder database from a server   If you want to move a public folder database from a server, you must first move the data within the public folder database to a public folder database on another server, and then you remove the public folder database.

• Removing the last public folder database from the organization   If you want to remove the last public folder database in your organization, you must first make sure that your organization does not contain any servers running Exchange Server 2003 or earlier. In addition, if you remove the last public folder database, only users running Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 or Outlook Web Access will be able to connect to your Exchange organization.

  Important

  Do not remove the last public folder database if your organization uses public folders to distribute organizational forms or to replicate free/busy information to or from another Exchange organization.

Migrating Public Folders From Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2007

If you are performing this procedure as part of a migration from Exchange Server 2003 to Exchange Server 2007, you can use either Exchange System Manager in Exchange 2003 or the Exchange Management Console in Exchange 2007 to move Exchange 2003 public folders to an Exchange 2007 server. For more information about migrating public folders, see the Microsoft Exchange Team blog article, Moving Public Folder Replicas from Exchange 2000 to Exchange 2007.

Removing a Public Folder Database From a Mailbox Server

To remove a public folder database from a Mailbox server, perform the following steps.

1. Delete unnecessary public folders.

   You cannot delete a public folder database that contains data. To remove data from a public folder database, delete any unnecessary public folders. For detailed instructions, see How to Remove Public Folders.

2. Move the public folder replicas to another server.

   After you remove any unnecessary public folders, you must move the remaining folder replicas in that database to a public folder database on another server.

   Note

   Depending on the number of public folders, the amount of information in the database, and the replication interval, this process may take several hours to complete.

   For detailed instructions, see How to Move Public Folder Content from one Public Folder Database to Another Public Folder Database.

   Important

   Do not remove the public folder database until public folder replication has completed.

3. Associate mailbox databases with another default public folder database.

   If any mailbox databases are associated with the public folder database that is to be removed, you must configure another public folder database as their default public folder database.

   To identify the public folder databases that are associated with all mailbox databases, run the following command:

   Get-MailboxDatabase | ft Name,PublicFolderDatabase
   

   For more information about how to change the default public folder database, see How to Change the Default Public Folder Database for a Mailbox Database.

4. Remove the public folder database.

   For detailed instructions, see How to Remove a Public Folder Database.

   Note

   If you have successfully performed Steps 1 through 4 and you receive an error stating that the public folder database cannot be removed because the public folder database contains replicas, you may need to wait several hours for public folder replication to finish.

5. Delete the public folder database files manually.

   When you remove a public folder database, the Exchange database (.edb) file for the database and other files that are associated with the database are not automatically deleted. You must delete the public folder database files manually. The default location for these files is C:\Program Files\Microsoft\ExchangeServer\Mailbox\<storage group name>\<public folder database name>.

Removing the Last Public Folder Database From an Organization

To remove the last public folder database from an organization, perform the following steps:

1. Verify that no offline address books (OABs) in your organization are configured for public folder distribution.

   If any OABs are configured for public folder distribution, you cannot remove the last public folder database in your organization. For instructions about how to reconfigure OABs, see Managing Offline Address Books.

2. Remove all public folders from the public folder database.

   You cannot delete a public folder database that contains data. To remove data from a public folder database, delete any unnecessary public folders. For detailed instructions about how to remove all the public folders in a public folder database, see How to Delete Multiple Public Folders from Your Organization.

3. Remove the last public folder database.

   For detailed instructions, see How to Remove a Public Folder Database.

   Note

   If you have successfully performed Steps 1 through 3 and you receive an error stating that the public folder database cannot be removed because the public folder database contains replicas, repeat Step 2 of the procedure How to Delete Multiple Public Folders from Your Organization. In addition, you can verify that all public folders have been removed by running the Get-PublicFolderStatistics cmdlet. For more information about this cmdlet, see Get-PublicFolderStatistics.

4. Delete the public folder database files manually.

   When you remove a public folder database, the Exchange database (.edb) file for the database and other files that are associated with the database are not automatically deleted. You must delete the public folder database files manually. The default location for these files is C:\Program Files\Microsoft\ExchangeServer\Mailbox\<storage group name>\<public folder database name>.

   Note

   When the last public folder database in the organization is removed, the default public folder database for all mailbox databases is automatically set to null.