You cannot restore an individual database by using Windows Server Backup in Exchange Server

Original KB number:   2735099

Symptoms

Consider the following scenario:

  • You must restore a mailbox in Exchange Server 2010 or Exchange Server 2007.
  • The computer that is running Exchange Server 2010 or Exchange Server 2007 hosts multiple mailbox databases.
  • You try to use Windows Server Backup to restore the individual mailbox. This mailbox is located in a specific database.

In this scenario, you cannot restore the individual mailbox or the individual database. When you try to use Windows Server Backup to restore the mailbox, the only option available is to restore all the databases if one of the following conditions is true:

  • The backup that is being restored is a Full Volume backup, and multiple databases are hosted on the same volume.
  • The backup that is being restored is a Full Server backup, and the server hosts multiple databases.

(The screenshots for this issue are listed below).

Screenshot of using Windows Server Backup to restore the mailbox.

Screenshot of the window for Details - Exchange.

Cause

This issue occurs because Windows Server Backup only lets you restore all databases.

Note

This is by design.

Workaround

To work around this issue, use the Recovery Wizard in Windows Server Backup to restore files and folders from a backup. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Select Start > Administrative Tools > Windows Server Backup.

  2. In the Actions pane of the snap-in default page, under Windows Server Backup, select Recover.

    Note

    This opens the Recovery Wizard.

  3. On the Getting Started page, select the option that you want, and then select Next.

  4. On the Select Backup Date page, select the date from the calendar and the time from the drop-down list of the backup that you want to restore from. Then, select Next.

  5. On the Select Recovery Type page, select Files and folders, and then select Next (The screenshot for this step is listed below).

    Screenshot of the window for Select Recovery Type.

  6. On the Select Items to Recover page, under Available items, expand the list until the folder that you want is visible. select a folder to display the contents in the adjacent pane, select each item that you want to restore, and then select Next (The screenshot for this step is listed below).

    Screenshot of the window for Select Items to Recover.

  7. On the Specify Recovery Options page, select Original Location, and then select Next (The screenshot for this step is listed below).

    Screenshot of the window for Specify Recovery Options.

  8. Under When this wizard find items in the backup that are already in the recovery destination, select the option that you want, and then select Next.

  9. Under Security settings, select the Restore access control list (ACL) permissions to the file or folder being recovered check box, if this is needed, and then select Next.

  10. On the Confirmation page, review the details, and then select Recover to restore the specified items.

  11. On the Recovery progress page, verify the status of the recovery operation.

  12. After the restore operation is complete, check the health of the database, and verify that the log files exist (The screenshot for this step is listed below):

    Screenshot of verifying that the log files exist.

  13. Perform a Soft Recovery operation. To do this, run the Eseutil.exe utility (The screenshot for this step is listed below):

    Screenshot of performing a Soft Recovery operation by using Command Prompt.

  14. Verify the status of the database. To do this, run the Eseutil.exe utility (The screenshot for this step is listed below):

    Screenshot of verifying the status of the database by using Command Prompt.

More information

Note

The following information refers to the information in step 7 on the following website. This information will be updated:
Use Windows Server Backup to restore a backup of Exchange.

  1. Select Recover to original location to recover backed-up data to its original location. If you use this option, you cannot set a single database or multiple databases. All backed-up databases are restored to their original locations.

  2. Select Recover to another location to restore multiple databases to a custom location. To do this, select Browse to specify the other location. If you use this option, you can restore a single database or multiple databases into a custom location. After the databases are restored, the data files can then be moved into a recovery database and manually moved back to their original locations. When you restore databases to another location, the restored database is in a Dirty Shutdown state.