Ultimate Guide: Recreate Missing Arbitration Mailboxes Made Easy
Published On - November 12, 2024 by Nasir Khan | Reading Time: 4 minutes
Is your Exchange Server struggling due to missing mailboxes? We have got you covered. Arbitration mailboxes are crucial in Exchange Server, especially in managing approval workflows and key system processes. However, these mailboxes might go missing, which causes issues with email moderation and several server functions. So, here is a comprehensive guide to help you recreate missing arbitration mailboxes. Well, the Regain Exchange Server Recovery Tool is an efficient solution for restoring lost mailboxes, fixing corruption issues, and many more. Let us learn in detail and help you find missing arbitration mailboxes.
Understanding Arbitration Mailboxes
Arbitration Mailboxes, or called Exchange system mailboxes, play an essential role in managing Exchange Server’s internal system tasks and smooth workflow. If somehow these mailboxes get corrupted, damaged, or inaccessible, it creates a hassle in the workflow of an organization. However, you can recreate missing arbitration mailboxes Exchange 2019, and fix the server functionality.
There are five main types of arbitration mailboxes, each serving a unique purpose. They are as follows:
| System Mailboxes | Role |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Exchange Federation Mailbox | This stores the database for managing federation (connection) between different MS Exchange Organizations. |
| Microsoft Exchange Migration Mailbox | It stores and manages information during the migration of user mailboxes in bulk. |
| Microsoft Exchange Approval Assistant | This mailbox plays a role in managing approval in the Exchange server for specific email tasks. |
| Microsoft Exchange Organization Mailbox for Offline Address Books (OAB) | It is solely responsible to create and manage Offline Address Books. |
| Microsoft Exchange Discovery System Mailbox | This mailbox assists in eDiscovery processes to locate a match-specified message. |
Possible Reasons of Missing Arbitration Mailboxes
Here are possible reasons why arbitration mailboxes goes missing:
- Disk failure or improper shutdown leading to Exchange database corruption.
- Accidental deletion of mailboxes by in-corrected commands.
- Improper configuration in Exchange Server setup.
- Replication failure or directory service errors in Active Directory.
Now, to fix this arbitration mailbox missing issue, we need to recreate the missing arbitration mailboxes. We will discuss the complete procedure in detail further, but before that, you must follow some pre-requisites.
How to Recreate Missing Arbitration Mailboxes Exchange 2019?
Before you proceed to recreate arbitration mailboxes, you need to fulfill some major requirements, as discussed below.
Pre-Requisites & Setup
Make sure these conditions are fulfilled:
- You must have the Recipient Provisioning permission. Also, you must be a member of the Enterprise Admins security group.
- In case the arbitration mailboxes are corrupt or damaged, delete user accounts associated with these mailboxes from the Active Directory system.
Note: Run the command “Get-Mailbox-Arbitration” to confirm if arbitration mailboxes are missing.
Further, proceed to create arbitration mailboxes as the steps follow.
Step 1: Firstly, check if your Exchange database is mounted to prepare for mailbox recreation. Open the Windows Command Prompt and run the following command to prep Active Directory:
Setup /PrepareAD /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms
Step 2: Now, we need to enable each of the Arbitration Mailboxes through the Exchange Management Shell. Follow the given commands for each mailbox:
Microsoft Exchange Federation Mailbox:
Enable-Mailbox -Arbitration -Identity “FederatedEmail.4c1f4d8b-8179-4148-93bf-00a95fa1e042”
Microsoft Exchange Approval Assistant Mailbox:
Get-User | Where-Object {$_.Name -like “SystemMailbox{1f05a927-7709-4e35-9dbe-d0f608fb781a}”} | Enable-Mailbox -Arbitration
Microsoft Exchange Migration Mailbox:
Enable-Mailbox -Arbitration -Identity “Migration.8f3e7716-2011-43e4-96b1-aba62d229136”
Microsoft Exchange Discovery System Mailbox:
Enable-Mailbox -Arbitration -Identity “SystemMailbox{e0dc1c29-89c3-4034-b678-e6c29d823ed9}”
Microsoft Exchange Organization Mailbox for OAB:
Enable-Mailbox -Arbitration -Identity “SystemMailbox{bb558c35-97f1-4cb9-8ff7-d53741dc928c}”
Step 3: Now, check if all arbitration mailboxes are successfully recreated and activated. Run this command:
Set-ADServerSettings -ViewEntireForest $true; Get-Mailbox -Arbitration | Format-Table Name,DisplayName
Now, you can clearly know the presence and status of each arbitration mailbox. If the setup is successful, they are ready to work.
Limitations of the Manual Process
Although the process is effective enough to recreate missing arbitration mailboxes, it can be challenging for non-technical users. If not performed under expert guidance, you may face these situations:
- Unexpected loss of data stored within the original arbitration mailboxes.
- You might need to re-establish some settings and configurations associated with the original arbitration mailboxes.
- Temporarily server load increases, thus affecting performance until processes stabilize.
However, the biggest concern is losing important data stored in arbitration mailboxes. We have found the best solution to help you out in these situations. Read further!
How to Recover Data From Damaged Arbitration Mailboxes?
Often users experience huge data loss while recreating arbitration mailboxes. So, we suggest using a reliable tool i.e., Regain Exchange Server Recovery. This proficient tool is especially designed to let users recover lost data from arbitration mailboxes. The tool enables users to restore data in various file formats for convenience. You can also migrate recovered data to Exchange Server or Office 365 directly. Moreover, the tool comes with an easy to use interface, a perfect fit for non-technical users.
Follow the procedure below to restore data from corrupt arbitration mailboxes:
- Install the Regain Exchange Recovery Tool and run it on your system.
- Now, select the corrupt EDB files and click Open to add them into the tool.
- Scanning process initiates and the tool detects data from the EDB file.
- Once the scanning is over, a preview of the mailboxes will be displayed.
- Choose to Save recovered data into PST or other desired format.
Hence, this is how you have recovered data from the Exchange file.
Conclusion
In this comprehensive blog, we have discussed the importance of Arbitration mailboxes in functioning of Exchange Server. When these mailboxes encounter issues like corruption or go missing, it is essential to recreate missing arbitration mailboxes to prevent system disruptions. We have outlined all the possible steps to help you do that with ease. Furthermore, if you lose any important data while recreation, use the proficient Exchange Recovery Tool for rescue.
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