Remove Exchange 2007 from AD (manually)
In the lab I had Exchange 2007 running and someone pulled my VM. It's not the end of the world because I'm done with what I was doing in 2007 however I've got other things running in the lab and I'd rather not rebuild the domain. Does anyone know what the process would be to clean up AD (remove the Exchange org) without having the Exchange server to do an uninstall on? Can I Install the Exchange admin console on another box and than remove the mail attributes from the accounts that has them and just remove the Exchange Systems Object container in AD or is there more? Erik
October 19th, 2006 7:03pm

Hi Erik, I couldn't find it in 2007 but 2003 had a removeorg switch ... maybe setup /m:uninstall does something similar? I can't try it right now though as my vm's are at work.As far as I know the removeorg just removed the Exchange System Object Containerbut I can't really give you a definative answer on 2007 as I'm only just getting around to playing with it properly. Now, maybeI'm just turning my answer into a question but if you've extended the schema with forestprep in 2003 did the removeorg switch undo that, I never checked ? Hopefully there's a bit of help for you in this answer somewhere and I'll let you know if that uninstall switch works for me Mark
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November 8th, 2006 2:35am

Thanks Mark. For lack of a better solution I ended up removing the Exchange System Objects container. I figured I could live with the schema extensions since I would be installing Ex 2007 again as soon as I can get my hands on the RTM bits, I guessing thatif I'm going to run into a problem with an improper uninstall that would probably be the time symptoms will manifest. Good thing this is just my lab enviroment :) Let me know how your removal process goes. Erik
November 8th, 2006 6:37pm

I'm also searching for how to remove it completely.I did the uninstall, but seems that I an error when I try to reinstall it...With the PrepareAD switch I get this errorThe well-known object entry B:32:A7D2016C83F003458132789EEB127B84:CN=Exchange Servers\0ADEL:55aededc-b582-4141-92c9-b8a9fa3957e1,CN=Deleted Objects,DC=hartbc,DC=be of the otherWellKnownObjects attribute on container object CN=Configuration,DC=hartbc,DC=be points to an invalid DN or a deleted object. Please remove the entry and rerun the task.So I need also to find out, how to remove it completely. I can't find nowhere in the register or file system for this entry what the error mentioned.Should I contact microsoft for this problem?
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November 18th, 2006 2:05pm

I am having the same problem. Were you able to find a solution?
December 20th, 2006 8:41pm

Erik Szewczyk-MVP wrote: ...For lack of a better solution I ended up removing the Exchange System Objects container. I figured I could live with the schema extensions since I would be installing Ex 2007 again as soon as I can get my hands on the RTM bits, I guessing thatif I'm going to run into a problem with an improper uninstall that would probably be the time symptoms will manifest... That's what I did. I just got my hands on the RTM bits and havent had a chance to install in the lab yet. Erik
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December 21st, 2006 3:36am

I did run into one problem while trying to install RTM: Organization PreparationFailed Error:The well-known object entry B:32:A7D2016C83F003458132789EEB127B84:CN=Exchange Servers\0ADEL:e60b372e-cd97-4fc2-bc8f-907728f0bc8d,CN=Deleted Objects,DC=domain,DC=com of the otherWellKnownObjects attribute on container object CN=Configuration,DC=domain,DC=com points to an invalid DN or a deleted object. Please remove the entry and rerun the task. I was able to resolve the issue by launching adsiedit.msc (part of the support tools) and going to the Configuration partion and bringng up the properties for Configuration,DC=domain,DC=com I edited the "othereWellKnownObjects" attribute to be "not set" (which it should be) by leaving it blank and clicking "add" (adding nothing) than applying the changes and re-running setup. Kudos to this thread for the fix: http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=839779&SiteID=17 Cheers, Erik
January 23rd, 2007 3:18am

Dear Erik, When you did this, what effects did it cause when you brought the new exchange enviroment online? I have unfortanely did the same thing that has happened and am getting ready to go live and see my old exchange 07 test server still in some of the enviroment. Will doing the above fix help? any help would be much appreciated.
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November 14th, 2007 7:03am

It fixed the problem for me, I didnt have any issues after that (and the lab is still running today). Erik
November 14th, 2007 9:01pm

Erik Szewczyk-MVP You are a dead set legend. Nick
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August 26th, 2008 3:49am

Bullfrog001 wrote: Erik Szewczyk-MVP You are a dead set legend. Nick Wow thanks for the plug! Erik
August 27th, 2008 1:01am

Hi - I had a similar issue and what worked for me was by using ADSIedit and going into Configuration Services Microsoft Exchange and locating "OtherWellKnownObject" and setting to blank Pete
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September 14th, 2008 12:03pm

Performing Microsoft Exchange Server Prerequisite Check Organization Checks ......................... COMPLETED Configuring Microsoft Exchange Server Organization Preparation ......................... FAILEDThe well-known object entry B:32:A7D2016C83F003458132789EEB127B84:CN=Exchange Servers\0ADEL:55aededc-b582-4141-92c9-b8a9fa3957e1,CN=Deleted Objects,DC=hartbc,DC=be of the otherWellKnownObjects attribute on container object CN=Configuration,DC=hartbc,DC=be points to an invalid DN or a deleted object. Please remove the entry and rerun the task. Solutions (Remove Exchange 2007 from AD (manually)) 1launching adsiedit.msc (part of the support tools) and going to the Configuration partion and bringng up the properties for Configuration,DC=domain,DC=com , edited the "othereWellKnownObjects" attribute to be "not set" (which it should be) by leaving it blank and clicking "add" (adding nothing) than applying the changes and re-running setup. 2if failed again, open CN=Services,delete CN=Microsoft Exchange, Open CN=Extended-rights,Delete CN=ms-Exch-* :) then,run setup /ps setup /p [/on:<>] setup /preparealldomains again.
February 10th, 2009 7:21am

When I tried to modify the "othereWellKnownObjects" attribute on adsiedit, i cannot modify it, it says "there is no editor registered to handle this attribute type".. i am using a windows 2008 sp2 domain , any ideas?
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September 11th, 2009 5:31am

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