Exchange is highly secure due to Database Availability Groups (DAGs). However, the possibility of a potential data loss from unexpected situations is hard to rule out. Often, Exchange Servers may experience several unexpected situations such as data loss, server crash, or power outage.

These circumstances lead to inaccessibility of mailboxes and other services related to Exchange, disrupting routine business activities. Exchange administrators should therefore have a robust plan to repair the Exchange server and avert loss of sensitive data.

Various recovery methods can prove effective in server recovery; using Active Directory (AD) is one of them. Active Directory allows Exchange Server to store and share directory data with Windows.

Integrating Exchange with AD can rebuild the Exchange configuration from Active Directory. This will streamline the recovery process with minimal data loss.

Recovering the Lost Exchange Server

Here is detailed info about recovering a lost Exchange server from Active Directory. In addition to this method, you may also use a professional Exchange recovery tool. We will discuss it later. Here are the recovery steps:

Consider the Prerequisites to Recover the Lost Exchange Server

Let’s start with the prerequisites for Exchange recovery. You need to gather several important details about the lost and the target Exchange server

1. The account you are about to use for server recovery will require permissions for the membership of:

• Domains Admins security group

• Exchange Organization Management role group

1. The operating systems, hardware configuration, and performance characteristics for both lost Exchange server and the recovery servers must be the same

2. You should know the directory path of the lost Exchange installation for a successful recovery. Otherwise, the process will fail.

3. The disk drive letters used for the mounted database on the lost servers and the target recovery server must be the same.

4. Self-signed certificate assigned by The /Mode:RecoverServer to Exchange services that need SSL/TLS

5. If assigned by another certification authority, re-import the SSL/TLS certificate and then reconfigure the services before using it.

Reset the Computer Account

To reset the account, you should be a member of Domain Admins, Enterprise Admins, or Account Operators. Once you have the permission, follow the steps below:

• Navigate to Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools

• Next, Open Active Directory Users and Computers.

• Click Computers or click the folder containing the computer that you have to reset

• Right-click the computer > choose Reset Account

• Click Yes to reset the account

Prepare the target server for Exchange Recovery

Follow the steps below to prepare the server for recovery:

• Create a new Exchange Server on a virtual or physical machine with similar hardware, name, and OS

• Give your new server the name of the lost Exchange server. This is a necessary condition for recovery.

• Add the new server to the same domain as the lost server

• The disk letters of the drive partitions should also match the lost server

• Join the newly created target server to the domain of the lost server

• Install the required prerequisite and OS component on the new server

Recovery Installation of Exchange Server

• Navigate to the target server and open File Explorer

• Right-click the Exchange ISO image file that you downloaded and select Mount

• Note the assigned virtual DVD drive letter

• Press the Windows Key and R to open the Run dialog box

• Type CMD to open the command prompt window as an administrator

• Use Setup /m:RecoverServer syntax in the command prompt to start the recovery installation:

• Setup /m:RecoverServer /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms

For Exchange Server 2016, 2019, or later Cumulative Update (CU), use any of the below switches:

/IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms_DiagnosticDataON or

/IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms_DiagnosticDataOFF

Here is the complete syntax:

<Virtual DVD drive letter>:\Setup.exe /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms_DiagnosticDataON /Mode:RecoverServer [/TargetDir:<Path>] [/DomainController:<ServerNameOrFQDN>] [/DoNotStartTransport] [/EnableErrorReporting]

Don’t forget to use the /TargetDir switch to mention the installation directory. Here is an example:

E:\Setup.exe /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms_DiagnosticDataON /Mode:RecoverServer

The successful setup installation will act as an indicator of the successful recovery of the lost Exchange server. To double-check the recovery of the lost server, you can do the following

• Open the Run dialog box (Press Windows + R key)

• Type services.msc to open the Microsoft Windows Services tool

• Find Microsoft Exchange Services and confirm its Running status

Restore Custom Settings and Server Configurations

• Reboot the server after installation is complete.

• Log in to Exchange Admin Center (EAC)

• Restore the SSL certificate, customizations, and configurations in the Virtual Directory or IIS

For this, you can run PowerShell commands in the Exchange Management Shell (EMS)

This entire process will help you recover your lost Exchange server from Active Directory

Using the Exchange recovery tool to Recover Lost Exchange

The manual recovery process can be cumbersome and time-consuming, despite being straightforward. Perhaps, an advanced Exchange recovery tool, such as Stellar Repair for Exchange, can help you with quick and hassle-free recovery.

Some worth-mentioning features of this Exchange recovery tool include:

• Corrupt or damaged Exchange EDB file repair

• Quick mailbox recovery through parallel processing

• Facility to set mailbox priority while saving

• Allows saving the repaired Exchange file in various formats - PST, MSG, EML, RTF, HTML, and PDF

• Exports recovered mailboxes and public folders to Office 365, Live Exchange, or PST

• Can recover archived mailbox and the contained items – Calendars, contacts, notes, tasks, etc

The Stellar Repair for Exchange tool is popular among small and large businesses for its user-friendly interface, cost-effectiveness, and robust Exchange recovery capabilities. You can buy it from the Stellar Info website. It is available in Corporate, Technician, and Toolkit versions to cater to the needs of different users.

Conclusion

If your Exchange server fails to reboot due to a server crash or data loss, you can recover it from Active Directory. However, this straightforward yet time-consuming process can be hectic. Moreover, it will require you to have requisite permissions at every step. Using PowerShell commands could further create hassles in case you type the wrong syntax.

To avoid such hassles, you can use an Exchange recovery tool. Stellar Repair for Exchange is tried and tested software in this regard. You can opt for its free trial version to scan and preview your recoverable mailboxes. For long-term use, buying any of its three available versions, subject to your specific Exchange recovery requirements, would be a wise move.