How to check and restore items from Recoverable Items and Purges?

Question

Hi All,

Below is a screenshot of the user's mailbox.

Below are two cmdlets output.

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-MailboxFolderStatistics -Identity ******@company.name -FolderScope DeletedItems | Select-Object FolderSize FolderSize

---

0 B (0 bytes)

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-MailboxFolderStatistics -Identity ******@company.name -FolderScope RecoverableItems | FL Name,FolderAndSubfolderSize,ItemsInFolderAndSubfolders

Name : Recoverable Items

FolderAndSubfolderSize : 64.07 MB (67,183,203 bytes)

ItemsInFolderAndSubfolders : 4178

Name : Audits

FolderAndSubfolderSize : 13.91 MB (14,585,793 bytes)

ItemsInFolderAndSubfolders : 2222

Name : Calendar Logging

FolderAndSubfolderSize : 14.84 MB (15,559,020 bytes)

ItemsInFolderAndSubfolders : 1872

Name : Deletions

FolderAndSubfolderSize : 13.21 MB (13,854,238 bytes)

ItemsInFolderAndSubfolders : 36

Name : Purges

FolderAndSubfolderSize : 22.11 MB (23,184,152 bytes)

ItemsInFolderAndSubfolders : 48

Name : SubstrateHolds

FolderAndSubfolderSize : 0 B (0 bytes)

ItemsInFolderAndSubfolders : 0

Name : Versions

FolderAndSubfolderSize : 0 B (0 bytes)

ItemsInFolderAndSubfolders : 0

I can see that there is indeed 0 items (nothing in the Deleted Items folder).

I also see that there are 36 items in the Recoverable Items (in the 2nd cmdlet output called Deletions).

What is Recoverable Items (FolderAndSubfolderSize : 64.07 MB (67,183,203 bytes)

ItemsInFolderAndSubfolders : 4178) and what is Purges (FolderAndSubfolderSize : 22.11 MB (23,184,152 bytes) ItemsInFolderAndSubfolders : 48)?

How do I see what is in Recoverable Items and Purges?

How do I restore items from Recoverable Items and Purges?

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A community.

Understanding the Recoverable Items Folder

The Recoverable Items folder in Exchange Online is a hidden folder that stores items deleted from a mailbox. It is divided into several subfolders, each serving a specific purpose:

Deletions: Contains items deleted from the Deleted Items folder (soft-deleted items). These items can be recovered by the user using the “Recover Deleted Items” feature in Outlook or Outlook on the web.

Purges: Contains items that have been purged from the Deletions subfolder (hard-deleted items). These items are not accessible to users and are typically retained for compliance and eDiscovery purposes.

Other Subfolders: Include Audits, Calendar Logging, SubstrateHolds, and Versions, which store various types of data for compliance and auditing.

Viewing Items in Recoverable Items and Purges

To see what is in the Recoverable Items and Purges folders, you can use the following PowerShell commands:

View Items in Deletions:

Get-RecoverableItems -Identity ******@company.name -SourceFolder Deletions

View Items in Purges:

Get-RecoverableItems -Identity ******@company.name -SourceFolder Purges

Restoring Items from Recoverable Items and Purges

To restore items from the Recoverable Items folder, you can use the Search-Mailbox cmdlet to search for and restore items. Here’s an example:

Restore Items from Deletions:

Search-Mailbox -Identity ******@company.name -SearchQuery "kind:email" -SearchDumpsterOnly -TargetMailbox ******@company.name -TargetFolder "Recovered Items" -LogLevel Full

Restore Items from Purges:

Search-Mailbox -Identity ******@company.name -SearchQuery "kind:email" -SearchDumpsterOnly -TargetMailbox ******@company.name -TargetFolder "Recovered Items" -LogLevel Full

Answer 2

Hello,

RecoverableItems is the top folder for every other item listed. If you add the item count in every subfolder, you'll see it matches the total shown for RecoverableItems.

More information about this folders is available here on MS Learn:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/security-and-compliance/recoverable-items-folder/recoverable-items-folder

Items from Deletions can be restored by the user, it's the "Recover items deleted" option in your screenshot.

Items in Purges will need some additional work:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/recipients-in-exchange-online/manage-user-mailboxes/recover-deleted-messages