The Exchange Server has the EDB files to store multiple mailboxes in a multi-user environment. In other words, the implementation of the Exchange Server in an organization creates multiple EDB files, each storing the mailbox of an individual. Thus, the number of EDB files on the MS Exchange Server is subject to the number of users or their corresponding mailbox count.

For the Exchange Server to function smoothly or flawlessly, there should be no violation, error, or a like scenario existing. During the Exchange Server downtime or in a similar scenario when your mailbox is not accessible, you can ask the Exchange Administrator to create a PST file of your mailbox, which you are supposed to import into an Outlook client. However, what if the Exchange EDB files are corrupt? Creating a PST from a corrupt EDB file might not be possible. In such cases, extracting your emails in a PST from the Exchange Server is quite bothersome.

The ExMerge Utility

Microsoft Exchange Server is provided with an inbuilt utility that can extract your emails in a PST file from the Exchange Server, and then allows you to merge those emails into a new mailbox on another Exchange Server running on a different computer. In other words, you can export your emails from EDB to PST using ExMerge utility on the Exchange Server, and then you can merge those emails into a new mailbox on another Exchange account.

The ExMerge utility in some earlier versions of the Exchange Server was available in Microsoft BackOffice Resource Kit, Second Edition, which the same for the Exchange Server 2000 is added to its installation disc. The utility is generally used when a need for exporting multiple mailboxes to PST files is there. Having the ability to migrate mailbox from one Exchange Server to another makes this Exchange inbuilt tool precious, especially in cases of disaster recovery. If the new PST file has some emails similar to those on the new mailbox, ExMerge utility replaces them with the recently added ones.

Extract Emails from Exchange Server in PST

Before we begin, copy the ExMerge.exe and ExMerge.ini both from the Exchange Server disc, and then paste them to the ExchSrvr/Bin directory on the server’s hard drive. Subsequently, follow the below mentioned steps:

1. Open the Exchange Mailbox Store from which the emails are to be exported to a PST.
2. Run the ExMerge utility for the user for which the delegated Administrators are available.

(If you run this utility from any other location on the server, it fails to start.)

3. Click the Next button on the Microsoft Exchange Mailbox Merge Wizard.
4. Select the “Extract or Import (Two Step Procedure)” option, and then click Next.
5. Select “Step 1: Extract data from an Exchange Server Mailbox” option, and then click Next.
6. Type in the Exchange Server’s name, and then click Next.
7. Select the store from which you want to export emails, and then click Next.
8. Highlight the mailboxes from which emails have to be exported, and then click Next.
9. With the English (US) selected as the Default locale, click Next.
10. Click the Change Folder button to select a location to save the PST file.
11. On the Save Settings screen, click Next to start exporting.
12.  The export process ends up with the export status shown on the screen.
13. Click the Finish button to close the Microsoft Exchange Mailbox Merge Wizard.

With the aforementioned steps to export emails from the Exchange EDB file to the PST file, you have successfully exported the emails. You can import the PST file into Outlook client or can merge into a mailbox on another Exchange Server.

If the above process fails to complete successfully or you find these steps troublesome, I suggest using the Stellar Phoenix EDB to PST Converter for quick and hassle-free EDB to PST conversion.