Remove (legacy) Exchange server using ADSIEdit
23Feb12
The need to remove a (legacy) Exchange server using ADSIEdit could have several reasons. The method using ADSIEdit to remove an Exchange server should only be used carefully.
The most common reasons are listed below:
- The deinstallation didn’t finish properly and left attributes or entries in Active Directory
- The Exchange server is permanent offline Exchange and should be removed
- An Exchange installation didn’t finish properly and the attributes and entries shoould be removed
To remove the server open ADSI-Edit and go to configuration
Navigate to this path:
CN=Configuration,DC=DOMAIN,DC=LOCAL
CN=Services
CN=Microsoft Exchange
CN=EXCHANGE_ORG
CN=Administrative Groups
for Exchange 2003
CN=First Administrative Group
for Exchange 2007
CN=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT)
for Exchange 2010
CN=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT)
CN=Servers
Within the container CN=Servers you can see you installed legacy Exchange servers. By right-click and hit delete you can remove the objects. You can also remove single objects of a server like public folder databases.
Refer to this article to see how to remove public folders in the different versions of Exchange.
Cheers,
Chris
Filed under: Exchange 2010, Exchange Legacy | 11 Comments
Tags: 2003, 2007, 2010, ADSI, adsiedit, corrupt, exchange, installation, legacy, remove
Exchange Team Blog- Released: Calculator Updates Galore! May 24, 2013Today, we have released an updated version of the Exchange 2013 Server Role Requirements Calculator that addresses several issues found since its initial release. You can view what changes have been made, or download the update directly. In addition, we are releasing an updated version of the Exchange 2010 Server Role Requirements Calculator as well. You ca […]
- Ambiguous URLs and their effect on Exchange 2010 to Exchange 2013 Migrations May 23, 2013With the recent releases of Exchange Server 2013 RTM CU1, Exchange 2013 sizing guidance, Exchange 2013 Server Role Requirements Calculator, and the updated Exchange 2013 Deployment Asistant, on-premises customers now have the tools you need to begin designing and performing migrations to Exchange Server 2013. Many of you have introduced Exchange 2013 RTM CU1 […]
- Using Exchange Web Services to Apply a Personal Tag to a Custom Folder May 20, 2013In Exchange 2010, we introduced Retention Tags, a Messaging Records Management (MRM) feature that allows you to manage email lifecycle. You can use retention policies to retain mailbox data for as long as it’s required to meet business or regulatory requirements, and delete items older than the specified period. One of the design goals for MRM 2.0 was to sim […]
- Released: Exchange Server 2013 Management Pack May 15, 2013The Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 Management Pack (SCOM MP) is now live! As I discussed in my Managed Availability article, the key difference between this management pack and previous releases, is that our health logic is now built into Exchange, as opposed to the management pack. This means updates to Exchange 2013 (like our cumulative updates), will incl […]
- Released: Exchange 2013 Server Role Requirements Calculator May 14, 2013download release notes readme It’s been a long road, but the initial release of the Exchange 2013 Server Role Requirements Calculator is here. No, that isn’t a mistake, the calculator has been rebranded. Yes, this is no longer a Mailbox server role calculator; this calculator includes recommendations on sizing Client Access servers too! Originally, marketin […]
- Use Exchange Web Services and PowerShell to Discover and Remove Direct Booking Settings May 10, 2013Prior to Exchange 2007, there were two primary methods of implementing automated resource scheduling – Direct Booking and the AutoAccept Agent (a store event sink released as a web download for Exchange 2003). In Exchange 2007, we changed how automated resource scheduling is implemented. The AutoAccept Agent is no longer supported, and the Direct Booking met […]
- Ask the Perf Guy: Sizing Exchange 2013 Deployments May 6, 2013Since the release to manufacturing (RTM) of Exchange 2013, you have been waiting for our sizing and capacity planning guidance. This is the first official release of our guidance in this area, and updates to our TechNet content will follow in a future milestone. As we continue to learn more from our own internal deployments of Exchange 2013, as well as from […]
- Public Folders and Exchange Online May 2, 2013“You mean… this is really happening?” Last November we gave you a teaser about public folders in the new Exchange. We explained how public folders were given a lot of attention to bring their architecture up-to-date, and as a result of this work they would take advantage of the other excellent engineering work put into Exchange mailbox databases over the yea […]
- Introducing Message Analyzer, an SMTP header analysis tool in Microsoft Remote Connectivity Analyzer May 1, 2013Microsoft Remote Connectivity Analyzer is a web-based tool that provides administrators and end users with the ability to run connectivity diagnostics for our servers to test common issues with Microsoft Exchange, Lync and Office 365. The tool started as Microsoft Exchange Server Remote Connectivity Analyzer, and based on your feedback we've continued t […]
- Troubleshoot your Exchange 2010 database backup functionality with VSSTester script April 29, 2013Download Frequently in support, we encounter several backup related calls for Exchange 2010 databases. A sample of common issues we hear from our customers are: “My backup software is not able to take a successful snapshot of the databases” “My backups have been failing for quite a while. I have several thousand log files consuming disk space and I will even […]
- Released: Calculator Updates Galore! May 24, 2013
I have a single Exchange 2010 SP2 server that I ant to remain intact. I need to remove an Exchange 2003 SP2 server that was not properly removed before decommissioning the server. I can no longer bring up the old server, but I want to remove all traces of it without damaging my Exchange 2010 organization. Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance,
-Scott
Hi Scott,
if the Server was not properly decomissioned, you can follow the instructions in this article.
Regards,
Chris
Do you recommend deleting the ‘CN=[SERVERNAME] folder all together? Beneath it I see defined ‘Information Store, Microsoft MTA, Microsoft System Attendant, Protocols’ and several subfolders within a few of these. I don’t want to break my Exchange 2010 org, but would like to stop seeing Legacy warnings in the BPA and Event logs.
Thanks again!
Yes, the clean way is to delete the whole server object. This wouldn’t break your Exchange 2010 configuration. But you mustn’t delete the “Servers” folder itself.
Regards,
Chris
Thank you for your help
No worries
In my ADSI, I see a CN=Databases listed before the CN=Servers. Is there a reason to keep the database listed under the servername that I plan on deleting? Thanks!
Hi Brian,
which version of Exchange do you use?
Cheers,
Chris
What if I deleted the server folder in error? Transitioned from exch 2003 to exch 2007. I have no need to go back to exch 2003.
I deleted the server folder is error, now when I run add and remove programs to remove exchange 2003 I receive an active sync error. I transitioned from exch 2003 to exch 2007, I just want to remove all traces of exch 2003.
Hi Robert, di you try to recreate the Servers’ folder?
Cheers,
Chris