Summary: Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 SP1 and later versions allow administrators to export mailboxes to PST format using the New-MailboxExportRequest cmdlet. But sometimes, the mailbox export request fails or gets stuck in the queue. In this post, you will learn how to fix the mailbox export request is stuck in queue issue. You will also learn about an EDB to PST converter software that quickly export mailboxes from Exchange database files to PST without any issue.
There are many reasons why you need to export Exchange Server mailboxes to PST. You may need to export the data of a certain year, create a copy of a mailbox, or create a backup of an employee/user who left the company. For exporting mailboxes to PST, you can use the New-MailboxExportRequest PowerShell command in Exchange Management Shell (EMS). To check the status of the export request, you can use the Get-MailboxExportRequest PowerShell command. This shows the mailbox export request status in queue, processing, or completed. Sometimes, you see that mailbox export request is stuck in queue with no progress. There are various reasons that can lead to the mailbox export request stuck in queue issue. Below, we will discuss the reasons behind this issue and see how to resolve this issue.
Reasons why Mailbox Export Request is Stuck in Queue
There could be various reasons why mailbox export request is stuck in queue. Here are some common reasons:
- There is a backup running which is restricting the access to the database. This usually happens if the backup software is not supported or application aware.
- Antivirus software is blocking the transaction logs or the database.
- The user doesn’t have required permissions or roles to perform the operation.
- The MSExchangeMailboxReplication service is stuck.
- There is an issue with replication (in a DAG setup).
Methods to Solve Mailbox Export Request Stuck in Queue Issue
You can try the following methods to resolve the mailbox export request is stuck in queue issue.
Method 1 – Check and Update Exchange Server
The first thing you need to do is check that your Exchange Server is fully patched and updated. This will help solve a lot of issues, improve the performance, fix a lot of things, and upscale the security features of the application.
Method 2 – Check Replication Service
You may also face problems while exporting mailboxes to PST if there are issues with the MSExchangeMailboxReplication service. You can check and modify the values of the “MSExchangeMailboxReplication.exe.config” file. The config file states which values are valid (see the below example).
<!-- Mailbox Replication Service configuration
Setting Name - Default, MinValue, MaxValue
MaxActiveMovesPerSourceMDB - 20, 0, 100
MaxActiveMovesPerTargetMDB - 20, 0, 100In the example above, you can see that the value of both lines is 100. By default, this is the maximum value allowed. If the value is more than 100, change the value and then save the file. After that, restart the MSExchangeMailboxReplication service or the server.
In a Database Availability Group (DAG) setup, you need to do the following:
- Reboot both servers in the DAG.
- Check resources, such as CPU, memory, and disk space.
- Check if all services are running.
- Check the ServerComponentState.
- Run a Test-ReplicationHealth.
- Turn off Windows Firewall on both servers.
- Disable any antivirus software scan or backup jobs.
After doing the above, check if the export requests have started or are in progress. If not, then follow the next methods.
Method 3 – Remove/Delete Export Request and Try Again
You can try to remove the ExportRequest which is in queue. For this, open the Microsoft Exchange Management Shell and run the following command.
Get-MailboxExportRequest –Status Queued | Remove-MailboxExportRequestNote: This command will delete all the export requests with the status marked as queued.
After removing the request, you can start the export of the mailbox using the New-MailboxExportRequest.
You can also delete the export requests, restart the server, and then try again.
If the issue persists, you need to look deeper into the issue.
Method 4 – Check Exchange Application Log
You can also look into the Exchange Application log to find out the cause of the issue. For this, you can run the below PowerShell command in the Exchange Management Shell:
Get-MailboxExportRequest | Get-MailboxExportRequestStatistics –IncludeReport |FLThis will give more insight on the cause of the issue.
Method 5 – Use Outlook to Export the Mailbox
You can also use Outlook to export the mailbox to PST. However, you need to have the Outlook attached with the mailbox. But this process will take a lot of time and you need the user to login in to Outlook. In case of a disconnected mailbox, you need to create a new AD user and connect the mailbox to the user.
To Conclude
If you’re facing issues while exporting mailboxes to PST or the export requests are stuck in queue, then follow the solutions mentioned above to fix the issue. However, if nothing works or there is an underlying issue with the server/database, then you can use a third-party EDB converter application, like Stellar Converter for EDB to export mailboxes to PST files. The application runs very smooth and can be installed on the server or on a Windows machine. With Stellar Converter for EDB, you will be able to access the EDB file and export the mailboxes to PST, EML, HTML and other formats in just a few clicks. There is no size limitation when exporting from any version of EDB database file. With this EDB to PST converter software, you can also export the mailboxes from the EDB files to Office 365 or a live Exchange Server.
