In MS Exchange, you can use New-MailboxExportRequest PowerShell cmdlet or Exchange Admin Center (EAC) to create mailbox export requests. It allows Exchange admins and users to export mailboxes and mailbox items to PST format for backup and migration purposes. However, to run or execute the cmdlet or create mailbox export requests, certain permissions and roles must be assigned to the user account.
When these permissions or roles are not assigned, an error message, such as Couldn’t find the Enterprise Organization container, is displayed while executing the New-MailboxExportRequest cmdlet or exporting mailbox to PST via EAC.
The elaborated error message that appears in Exchange Management Shell (EMS) after running New-MailboxExportRequest cmdlet is,
Couldn’t find the Enterprise Organization container.+ CategoryInfo: NotSpecified: (0:Int32) [New-MailboxExportRequest], OrgContainerNotFoundException+ FullyQualifiedErrorId: AB0577B9,Microsoft.Exchange.Management.RecipientTasks.NewMailboxExportRequest
The error message that appears in EAC,
Specify the path to export the .pst file to (example: \\server\folder\ExportFile01.pst);
Couldn’t find the Enterprise Organization container
In case, you are encountering the Couldn’t find the Enterprise Organization container error message during mailbox export request via New-MailboxExportRequest cmdlet or EAC, follow this guide to resolve the error and export the PST.
How to Resolve ‘Couldn’t find the Enterprise Organization container’ Error?
The Mailbox Export-Import based access control (RBAC) management role remains unassigned to the Exchange administrator’s account. The configuration “Read and Write” scopes for the administrator role are assigned as “None”. Hence, the “Read and Write” scopes for the role are not sufficient, and the configuration data is blocked. To unblock the configuration data, the “Mailbox-Search role” is assigned to the account which enables “Read and Write” scopes to the recipient.
Thus, this issue can be resolved by assigning the Mailbox Export-Import based access control (RBAC) management role to the account. To assign this role, you can create a group, such as ‘Exchange Security’ and then execute the following cmdlet in EMS,
New-ManagementRoleAssignment -Name “name” -SecurityGroup “Exchange Security” -Role “Mailbox Import Export.”
This assigns the Mailbox Import Export based access control management role to the accounts that are members of the ‘Exchange Security’ group. If you need to assign the Mailbox Import Export role to any user, you can add the user to this Exchange Security group.
After adding the user to the group, log off and log on again. Then, use the PowerShell command – New-MailboxExportRequest or the EAC to export mailboxes.
Now, the mailboxes will be exported to PST without the error Couldn’t find the Enterprise Organization container.
However, if you still cannot export mailbox items to PST, you can use Stellar Converter for EDB software, which can export the mailboxes to PST format without any error.
Why Choose Stellar Converter for EDB Software?
The EDB to PST converter software is developed to take care of most of the issues that arise during mailbox export to PST and Exchange migration process. Though New-MailboxExportRequest performs similar functions and Exchange also provides a GUI-based EAC for the purpose, they have many limitations that Stellar Converter for EDB overcomes.
It features a user-friendly interface that enables admins and users to quickly export mailboxes from the Exchange database to PST, live Exchange, or Office 365 account. Unlike New-MailboxExportRequest or EAC, Stellar Converter for EDB software doesn’t need any extra permissions to export mailboxes from Exchange EDB.
How to Export Mailboxes to PST by using Stellar Converter for EDB?
Follow these steps to export mailboxes to PST by using Stellar Converter for EDB software:
- Download, install, and launch the software.
- Click ‘Browse’ and select EDB file. Then click on ‘Next’.
- Alternately, click on Find EDB if you are not aware of the EDB file-location and then click on ‘Next’.
- The scanned mailboxes are displayed on the screen. Verify all mailbox items to be exported into the PST format. If you want to export only a few selected mailboxes, then check those mailboxes and uncheck those that are not necessary. As the EDB file lists all mailboxes, selecting the ones that need to be exported is the right approach.
- From the ‘Save’ option, tick for PST to export mailbox into PST file format
- Specify the location to save the PST file and click on Ok.
- A confirmation message is displayed stating that the PST file is saved successfully, at the specified location.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The error message, ‘Couldn’t find the Enterprise Organization container’ may also appear when you install MS Exchange. If you have encountered the error message during Exchange installation, simply delete the following CNs by using ADSI Edit,
- CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=Lab,DC=local
- CN=CN=Microsoft Exchange Autodiscover,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=Lab,DC=local ” style=”width: undefinedpx;”>Click on the File path to confirm
The Epilogue
The ‘Couldn’t find the Enterprise Organization container’ error can be quickly resolved by assigning the Mailbox Import Export role. It is to be noted that this role isn’t assigned to any user on Exchange, not even the administrator. However, if you still face any issue while exporting the mailboxes to PST via EMS or EAC, you can use an EDB to PST converter software, such as Stellar Converter for EDB. The software is a better option to export mailbox data when the system encounters ‘Couldn’t find the Enterprise Organization container’ while creating a mailbox export request via New-MailboxExportRequest cmdlet or EAC. Stellar Converter for EDB software also sets you free from using the lengthy PowerShell commands and processes. More importantly, this software requires lesser time and effort to produce the same and in actual, better results.
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