Delete exchange Mailbox Database

Question

Hi,

We are looking to delete a mailbox database that was created during exchange 2013 install.

Here is a list of all mailboxes currently present in the DB.

Do we need to move / recreate any of the mailboxes in the new DB before deleting the old ?

Thank you

Get-MailboxDatabase "Mailbox Database 113644*" | Get-MailboxStatistics | Sort totalitemsize -desc | ft displayname, totalitemsize, itemcount

DisplayName                             TotalItemSize                                                         ItemCount  
-----------                             -------------                                                         ---------  
HealthMailbox-SERVER-Mailbox-Databas... 2.296 GB (2,465,255,374 bytes)                                           440817  
In-Place Archive - HealthMailbox-hel... 1.23 GB (1,320,731,377 bytes)                                            198294  
HealthMailbox4cf0e4aa0d1e4273be0a77d... 781.9 MB (819,840,469 bytes)                                             145534  
HealthMailbox68d714ec8c3d41dc8943430... 377.4 MB (395,742,597 bytes)                                              59099  
Microsoft Exchange                      387.6 KB (396,875 bytes)                                                      9  
Microsoft Exchange Migration            44.11 KB (45,167 bytes)                                                       4  
HealthMailbox-SERVER-003                18.63 KB (19,074 bytes)                                                       3  
Microsoft Exchange                      13.13 KB (13,450 bytes)                                                       5  
HealthMailbox-SERVER-006                9.787 KB (10,022 bytes)                                                       2  
HealthMailbox-SERVER-009                9.787 KB (10,022 bytes)                                                       2  
In-Place Archive - HealthMailbox-hel... 8.944 KB (9,159 bytes)                                                        2  
In-Place Archive - HealthMailbox-hel... 8.944 KB (9,159 bytes)                                                        2  
In-Place Archive - HealthMailbox-hel... 8.944 KB (9,159 bytes)                                                        2  
SystemMailbox{68d714ec-8c3d-41dc-894... 8.128 KB (8,323 bytes)                                                        3  
Personal Archive - HealthMailbox68d7... 0 B (0 bytes)                                                                 0  
Personal Archive - HealthMailbox4cf0... 0 B (0 bytes)                                                                 0  

Answer 1

The only ones you need to move from that list are the arbitration mailboxes.
You can do that easily with one command:

get-mailbox  -Arbitration | New-MoveRequest -TargetDatabase <New DB>  

The health mailboxes listed there DO NOT need to be moved. They are tied to the server itself.

If you have missed any, Exchange will flag it when you try to remove the database

Answer 2

I found 2 articles confirming what you posted Andy

Ex 2013 only needs user mailboxes and arbitration mailboxes moved
https://www.mobilechronicles.com/2016/05/18/how-to-remove-the-default-database-in-exchange-2013/

Ex 2016 needs Monitoring and AuditLog mailboxes moved in addition to Arbitration
https://www.mustbegeek.com/delete-default-mailbox-database-exchange-2016/

Answer 3

Use the Remove-MailboxDatabase as it indicates the DN of the user that still has a mailbox on the database, but only when the -Verbose parameter is specified:

Refer to this article: This mailbox database contains one or more mailboxes.

Answer 4

Hi @nettech ,
You need to move all mailboxes from the database to another database before you can delete it. Here are a few articles for your reference:
http://www.powershellgeek.com/2012/10/05/exchange-server-2013-preview-remove-original-database/
http://woshub.com/how-to-delete-default-database-in-exchange-20102013/
https://www.alitajran.com/delete-mailbox-database-exchange/
Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find additional information about this topic. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of third-party contact information.

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