Restore Accidentally Deleted Public Folder Database from EDB File

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Though the architecture of public folder database has changed in recent versions of Exchange Server making it less susceptible to corruptions and other errors, some human errors like accidental deletion of public folder database can still make public folder data inaccessible to end users. If Exchange administrators have foreseen this situation and have taken backups for the Exchange (a copy of the EDB file also is good enough), the data can easily be recovered using Exchange recovery tools like Lepide Exchange Recovery Manager. To restore accidentally deleted public folder database from EDB file or Exchange server, you can use Lepide Exchange Recover Manager.

Using Lepide Exchange Recovery Manger to Restore Accidentally Deleted Public Folder Database from EDB File

While using Lepide Exchange Recovery Manger, the recovery of public folder data involves three major steps:

  1. Extract EDB files and log files from backup
  2. Recover deleted public folders and items from EDB files
  3. Restore the recovered data to Live Exchange or Office 365, or export it to PST

Note: To recover data from a copy of the EDB file, one can directly go to step 2.

Extract EDB and log files from backup

Backup Extractor of Lepide Exchange Recovery Manager extracts EDB files and log files from backups created by Windows NT, Symantec, Veritas, ARCserve, and HP backup applications. Data can be recovered from backups in the following formats:



  • .bkf –              Windows NT, Symantec, and Veritas backup
  • .fd –              HP backup
  • .ctf –              ARCserve backup

To extract the files from the backup, follow the steps given below (given in brief):

  1. Open the Backup Extractor in Lepide Exchange Recovery Manager.
  2. Select the backup file and extract it.
    Restore Accidentally Deleted Public Folder Database from EDB File
  1. When the backup file data gets displayed for preview, save the file to the required destination.

Recover deleted public folders and items from EDB files

Lepide Exchange Recovery Manager recovers the public folder data from the EDB file extracted from the backup (or from a copy of EDB file). The steps to this are given below in brief:

  1. In the Add Source window, and select the source type as Offline EDB File.
    Restore Accidentally Deleted Public Folder Database from EDB File
  2. Now select the extracted EDB file (or a copy of the EDB file).
    Restore Accidentally Deleted Public Folder Database from EDB File
  3. Select Standard Scan option and complete the scan process.
    Restore Accidentally Deleted Public Folder Database from EDB File
  4. Finally, when the scan is complete, preview the EDB file in the Source List.Restore Accidentally Deleted Public Folder Database from EDB File

Restore the public folders and items to Live Exchange/Office 365 or export to PST

To ensure end user accessibility through MS Outlook, public folders and its data has to be in Live Exchange/Office 365 or PST. Follow the steps below (given in brief) to restore the public folders to Live Exchange/Office 365, or to export them to PST:

  1. In the Add Destination window, select Live Exchange, Office 365, or PST file as destination type (according to the requirement).
    Restore Accidentally Deleted Public Folder Database from EDB File
  2. Provide the server and mailbox details, and choose the connection options. Provide login credentials when prompted for it.
    Restore Accidentally Deleted Public Folder Database from EDB File
  3. After successfully connecting to the destination, you can preview the Destination List.
    Restore Accidentally Deleted Public Folder Database from EDB File
  4. Finally, copy the required public folders from the Source List and paste them to the Destination List.
    Restore Accidentally Deleted Public Folder Database from EDB File

Article Summary

Exchange administrators rely on Exchange backups to restore the data of accidentally deleted public folder databases. Lepide Exchange Recovery Manager, a user-friendly Exchange recovery solution, helps them in all the steps of this process–to extract EDB files from backup, to recover public folder data, and to restore/export public folder data to Live Exchange/Office 365 or PST file.




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Bipin is a freelance Network and System Engineer with expertise on Cisco, Juniper, Microsoft, VMware, and other technologies. You can hire him on UpWork. Bipin enjoys writing articles and tutorials related to Network technologies. Some of his certifications are, MCSE:Messaging, JNCIP-SEC, JNCIS-ENT, and others.

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