Hey All, I have to redo my ActiveDirectory. If i backup my mailbox store and public store, can i restore them to a different AD? Here is what we have now.. Currently our internal dns is davenportassociates.com, its wrong and i need to change it to davenportassociates.local. If i just save my 2 stores, can i re-import them to the new AD after i redo the server?

Hi Jastin, You can not restore the backup of Exchange from one AD to another AD but you may think about domain rename. Supplemental steps for using the Exchange Server Domain Rename Fixup tool together with the Windows Server 2003 domain rename tools Exchange and Domain Rename Operations Domain Rename Rename a Windows 2003 Forest with Exchange 2003 installed

WOW Thank you! In one of the links i found "Step by step guide to implementing domain rename". Here is one question.... right in the requirements it states: . To perform a domain rename operation, Exchange must not be installed on any domain controllers. If a domain controller is running Exchange, move the Exchange data off of the domain controller and uninstall Exchange. Should I do this on my PDC or do it on my exchange and do what it says, uninstall then reinstall....

Domain Rename is not supported when Exchange is installed on Domain Controller. If you have Exchange installed on DC then move the exchange mailboxes to another Exchange server and uninstall the Exchange Server from DC. If you have only one exchange server in environment and which is installed on DC then you can install a temporary exchange server, move all mailboxes on that and uninstall exchange from DC and proceed for domain rename.

Can I do this? Install another Exchange 2007 server on the new domain, migrate the mailboxes over, redo the old exchange server to the new domain then migrate them back over. Will that work? If i do it this way i'm not restoring a mailbox store, i am just migrating mailboxes over.

Hi Jastin, I just realized that you are running on Exchange 2007 (missed to read subject line). Domain Rename is not supported if Exchange 2007 is installedin forest and you can not restore the database in new AD forest. Exchange 2007 Database Portability also works in same organization Possible ways are, export mailboxes to pst and import back in new AD forest or think about creation of new forest and then do the cross forest migration to preserve data. How to Move a Mailbox Across Forests.