Delete mailbox only, not AD account
There is an AD account named Domain\User1 which has an associated mailbox (User1). I would like to delete the mailbox ONLY, not the AD account. I will then recreate a new, blank, mailbox for User1. Does anyone know how this is possible with Exchange 2007? With 2003, you could delete a mailbox only via ADUC, but can't see a way to do this in 2007 EMC.
March 9th, 2011 2:06pm

Right click the user in EMC and choose disable. When you choose disable it detaches the mailbox from the AD user. If you choose remove, it deletes the AD user and mailbox. Using the shell it's disable-mailbox jsmith Use the Disable-Mailbox cmdlet to disable the mailbox of an existing user or InetOrgPerson and remove that object's Exchange attributes from the Active Directory directory service. The user account associated with the mailbox will remain in Active Directory but will no longer be associated with a mailbox.James Chong MCITP | EA | EMA; MCSE | M+, S+ Security+, Project+, ITIL msexchangetips.blogspot.com
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March 9th, 2011 3:02pm

Thanks James, but I also want to get rid of that mailbox altogether whilst still keeping the AD account intact, any way to do this?
March 9th, 2011 3:04pm

Yes when you disable it, it marks the mailbox for deletion. If you don't have any mailbox retention (keep deleted mailboxes for X days configured) then the mailbox will be deleted when the database maintenance runs typically during week hours of the night.James Chong MCITP | EA | EMA; MCSE | M+, S+ Security+, Project+, ITIL msexchangetips.blogspot.com
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March 9th, 2011 3:37pm

Hi, From your description, you should disable the mailbox and it will keep the user account and without a mailbox. And when you remove a mailbox in EMC, it will remove the user account in ADUC. Here are some articles for you. Please see, Managing Mailboxes in Exchange Server 2007 (Part 2) http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/Managing-mailboxes-Exchange-Server-2007-Part2.html Understanding Disconnected Mailboxes: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb232039(EXCHG.80).aspx Best regards, SerenaPlease remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.
March 11th, 2011 1:12am

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