Applies to: Exchange Server 2010 SP3, Exchange Server 2010 SP2

Topic Last Modified: 2012-07-23

A mailbox import request is a process of importing mailbox data from a .pst file into a mailbox or archive. You can create more than one mailbox import request per mailbox, and each request must have a unique name. Microsoft Exchange automatically generates up to 10 unique names for a mailbox. However, to create more than 10 import requests for a mailbox, you need to specify a unique name when creating the request.

Note:
Although you can create multiple import requests per mailbox at one time, you can create only one request at a time per .pst file. This is because the .pst file is locked as in-use when the request begins to run.

Alternatively, you can remove existing import requests by using the Remove-MailboxImportRequest cmdlet, and then start the new request by using MailboxImportX as the default value for the Name parameter (where X equals 0–9). For more information, see Remove a Mailbox Import Request.

Note:
You can't use the Exchange Management Console (EMC) to create a mailbox import request. You must use the Shell.

Looking for other management tasks related to mailbox import or export requests? Check out Managing Mailbox Import and Export Requests.

Use the Shell to import a .pst file into a user's primary mailbox

You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this procedure. To see what permissions you need, see the "Import Export" entry in the Mailbox Permissions topic.

You need to grant read/write permission to the group Exchange Trusted Subsystem to the network share where you'll export or import mailboxes. If you don't grant this permission, you'll receive an error message stating that Exchange is unable to establish a connection to the target mailbox.

This example imports a recovered .pst file into Ayla's primary mailbox. Only data in the .pst file's Inbox is imported. The data is imported into the RecoveredFiles folder of Ayla's target mailbox.

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New-MailboxImportRequest -Mailbox Ayla -FilePath \\SERVER01\PSTFiles\Recovered.pst -TargetRootFolder "RecoveredFiles" -IncludeFolders "#Inbox#"

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see New-MailboxImportRequest.

Use the Shell to import a .pst file into a user's archive

You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this procedure. To see what permissions you need, see the "Import Export" entry in the Mailbox Permissions topic.

You need to grant read/write permission to the group Exchange Trusted Subsystem to the network share where you'll export or import mailboxes. If you don't grant this permission, you'll receive an error message stating that Exchange is unable to establish a connection to the target mailbox.

This example imports a .pst file into Kweku's archive folder. The TargetRootFolder parameter isn't specified. Therefore, content is merged into existing folders, and folders are created if they don't already exist in the target folder structure.

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New-MailboxImportRequest -Mailbox Kweku -IsArchive -FilePath \\SERVER01\PSTFiles\Archives\Kweku\Archive2007.pst

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see New-MailboxImportRequest.

Use the Shell to import multiple .pst files

You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this procedure. To see what permissions you need, see the "Import Export" entry in the Mailbox Permissions topic.

You need to grant read/write permission to the group Exchange Trusted Subsystem to the network share where you'll export or import mailboxes. If you don't grant this permission, you'll receive an error message stating that Exchange is unable to establish a connection to the target mailbox.

This example imports all the .pst files in a shared folder. Each .pst file is named after a corresponding user's alias. The command creates an import request for all the .pst files and imports the data into the matching mailbox.

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Dir \\SERVER01\PSTshareRO\Recovered\*.pst | %{ New-MailboxImportRequest -Name RecoveredPST -BatchName Recovered -Mailbox $_.BaseName -FilePath $_.FullName -TargetRootFolder SubFolderInPrimary}

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see New-MailboxImportRequest.