Microsoft KB Archive/324080

= XADM: Orphaned Mailboxes in Exchange Server 5.5 Directories in a Mixed Environment =

Article ID: 324080

Article Last Modified on 10/28/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Exchange Server 2000 Service Pack 3
 * Microsoft Exchange Server 2000 Service Pack 1
 * Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server Service Pack 2
 * Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack 1
 * Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack 2
 * Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack 3
 * Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack 4

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This article was previously published under Q324080



SYMPTOMS
After you delete an Exchange 2000 mailbox from a mixed Exchange Server 5.5 and Exchange 2000 environment, the mailbox vanishes from Active Directory and Site Replication Service (SRS), but you can still see the mailbox when you are connected to an Exchange Server directory. If you re-create the mailbox, a duplicate mailbox appears in the Exchange Server directories with &quot;-1&quot; added to the directory name of the mailbox. Exchange Server users see duplicate entries in the Global Address List. These users may not be able to send mail to either entry and may receive a non-delivery report.



CAUSE
This issue occurs because mailbox deletions are set to be written to the .csv file on the properties of the Active Directory Connector (ADC) recipient Connection Agreement that is responsible for the organizational unit that the mailboxes were deleted from.



RESOLUTION
On the server where the ADC is installed, there is a file named Ex55.csv that is created in the Program Files\MSADC\MSADC\ folder. This .csv file contains a list of all the deleted Exchange 2000 mailboxes that were not replicated to the Exchange Server directories. To resolve this issue, create a new .csv file for each Exchange Site/Administrative Group that has duplicate mailboxes, and then paste the first line in the Ex55.csv file into each new .csv file.

The first line of the file named ex55.csv is similar to the following line:

Obj-Class, Mode, Directory Name, Obj-Container

After you paste each entry from the Ex55.csv file to the appropriate new .csv file, sort the new .csv file by Exchange Site and then sort by Administrative Group. Each entry is similar to the following entry:

mailbox, delete, user, /o=Organization/ou=Site/cn=Recipients

Next, you must take some additional steps to determine which SRS to import each .csv file into.
 * 1) Open the ADC console and view the list of Connection Agreements.
 * 2) Check the properties of each Connection Agreement that starts with &quot;Config CA.&quot;
 * 3) * On the From Windows tab, you can see a list of the Administrative Groups that Config CA is responsible for.
 * 4) * On the Connections tab, the Exchange Server entry specifies the SRS server that corresponds with the Config CA and that is responsible for the Administrative Groups listed in the From Windows tab.

Follow these steps for each Connection Agreement that starts with Config CA to determine which SRS databases are responsible for each Administrative Group in your organization.

Now you are ready to import the .csv files that you created.
 * 1) Start Exchange Server Administrator, and then connect to the Exchange 2000 server that hosts the SRS database.
 * 2) Click Tools, and then click Directory Import.
 * 3) Select the domain that the SRS server belongs to, and then select the SRS server as the MS Exchange Server.
 * 4) Type the name of the .csv file that you created in the Import File box.
 * 5) Click Import, and then wait for Exchange Server directory replication to replicate the deletions in the site.

NOTE: You must follow these steps on a regular basis unless you allow mailbox deletions to replicate to Exchange Server directories on the Deletion tab on the properties of each recipient Connection Agreement.



STATUS
This behavior is by design.



MORE INFORMATION
For additional information, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

253829 XADM: Description of the Active Directory Connector Deletion Mechanism

249831 XADM: How to Delete Windows 2000 User Accounts Stored in LDF Files by the ADC for Deferred Deletion

288569 XADM: How to Prevent Tombstones from Deleting Exchange Server 5.5 Mailboxes

Keywords: kbprb KB324080

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