If you mistakenly delete a mail-enabled user account, you can recreate that user object and then, by default, reconnect that mailbox for a period of 30 days. This is because when you delete a user, Exchange retains a user's mailbox for a specified period.
You configure Exchange to retain a user's mailbox in the way that you specify how many days Exchange retains mail that a user deletes. You configure a deleted-mailbox retention period at the mailbox store object level.
Reconnect a Deleted Mailbox to a New User Object
If you delete a user account, the user's mailbox is not actually deleted until the deleted-mailbox retention period expires. The following procedure outlines the steps for reconnecting a mailbox. In the following example, Kim Yoshida is a mailbox-enabled user that you previously deleted, and you are within the 30-day deleted mailbox retention period.
To reconnect a deleted mailbox to a new user object
- From Active Directory Users and Computers, create a new user object for Kim Yoshida.
Important When you create the new user object, clear the Create an Exchange Mailbox check box. This is to create a new Microsoft Windows- 2000 account without creating a corresponding Exchange mailbox. You will connect this user account to a mailbox later is this procedure.
Re-creating the user object without creating an Exchange mailbox
- From Exchange System Manager, navigate to the mailbox store on which Kim Yoshida's mailbox is located.
- In the details pane, locate the mailbox for Kim Yoshida.
Note Verify that the mailbox icon appears with a red X. Mailboxes that display with a red X are mailboxes that have been deleted but will be retained in the mailbox store until the deleted mailbox retention period expires.
- Right-click the mailbox named Kim Yoshida, and then click Reconnect. In New User for this Mailbox, select the new user object you created for Kim Yoshida, and then click OK.
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
- Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition
- Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Premium Edition
- Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Standard Edition
- Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server
