hi gurus We have x2000 and a bunch of hibrid OL clients all across(2000,2003,2007), we are in the process of moving the accounts to another exchange , this time is an x2003 and its on another office, we have no more than 20 users. so here are my question 1) Because this is just a handfull of user, is it better to exmerge individual accounts and them merge them on the new account on the x2003 that already is present on the new exchange. 2) Once the mailboxes are transfered, how do I go and get the clients to point to the new exchange server x2003, I tried to edit/modify the current profile but it was a no no. 3) once the x2000 is done how do I stop it from been the exchange. Thanks a bunch gurus

Are the two Exchange servers in the same Exchange Organization (are they in the same AD forest, can you see both servers in the ESM)? If so, you can just migrate the mailboxes over to the other server. Are you using public folders?Tim Harrington - Catapult Systems - http://HowDoUC.blogspot.com

Tw Thanks a bunch for jumping in and help 1) No the two exchange are in two different Organization. 2) No they are in different Forest as of now, no domain or AD integration has been done 3) No due to the other two not been done yet , ESM still shows the one our clients see and work with. 4) No public Folder are use on my side 5) How do I direct the clients after the change Thanks again for your hellp.

Since your original question was asking if it’s better to use exmerge, I’ll answer that: probably not. What your noticing about how Outlook doesn’t automatically redirect is just the tip of the iceburg. The domain account your users have associated with their computers and all their files is related to the existing forest. Unless this environment is a train wreck I’d install Exchange into the same forest as an additional server. Then use ESM to move mailboxes as Tim stated. BTW, Exchange 2007 and 2010 are newer versions of Exchange. If you’re going through all this trouble it might be worth evaluating a more modern version instead of 2003. Having said that – 2010 isn’t compatible with Exchange 2000, so you’ll need to upgrade to 2003 or 2007 first. On another note, you might wish to evaluate the “small business server” that Microsoft puts out. It’s an Exchange and AD solution all in one box. It would require a new forest, so not necessarily better than my above suggestion, but if you’re migrating to a new forest, this might be a better home for this size environment. Mike Crowley Check out My Blog!

Hi naguaramipana, -> 1) Because this is just a handfull of user, is it better to exmerge individual accounts and them merge them on the new account on the x2003 that already is present on the new exchange. A: In my opinion, if you just have 20 users, you could do it using exmerge, and it is a better way. -> 2) Once the mailboxes are transfered, how do I go and get the clients to point to the new exchange server x2003, I tried to edit/modify the current profile but it was a no no. A: Because there are two different forests, and what about the two forests domain name, same or different, and what method of the clients connect to the exchange server. All the elements would affect how you do. If the clients need joined into the new domain, you must reconfigure the profile for every account. -> 3) once the x2000 is done how do I stop it from been the exchange A: Please refer to below http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307917 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/260378 Regards! Gavin

Good points made by the other members and you will also want to consider the following; ExMerge only supports the ANSI PST Format which has a 2GB limit ExMerge will not warn you if a PST goes over 2GB, it will just corrupt the PST and you won’t know it until you try to open it ANSI PST's actually start to degrade at about 1.8GB so I would not go over that limit in order to ensure the data is recoverable Here is an article on how to script the creation of overflow PST's if you reach the 2GB limit http://gsexdev.blogspot.com/2007/01/exporting-mailbox-larger-then-2-gb-and.html Alternatively: You can look at other tools like Kroll PC, Quest RM or Lucid8 DigiScope that will allow you to export/import data between the two different Exchange servers and even different versions of Exchange if desired. Since you only have 20 users you should consider just using Outlook 2003 or later to export each of the 20 users to a Unicode PST since it has a 20GB limit. When you create a new PST i.e. select "File/New/Outlook Data file" you will have the option of selecting "Office Outlook Personal Folders File (.PST)" which is the default selection that will create a Unicode PST or you can select Outlook 97-2002 which is the ANSI type NOTE: ExMerge can only support ANSI PST files on Import as well and it won’t tell you this, instead it will just give you an obtuse error that will take you in circles for hours and drive you insane. Anyway IMO since its only 20 users I would use Outlook to do the Export/Import and then follow the articles Gavin posted Troy Werelius www.Lucid8.com

i would say go by the migration way.. potentially becouse users may not be able to reply to emails in pst if you create new mailboxes in new organization and add pst to outlook clientDhruva

i would say go by the migration way.. potentially becouse users may not be able to reply to emails in pst if you create new mailboxes in new organization and add pst to outlook clientDhruva