Topic Last Modified: 2005-11-18

The Microsoft® Exchange Server Analyzer Tool reads the following registry entry to determine whether the interval for removing deleted items has been modified from the default setting:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\<ServerName>\Public-<PublicFolderStoreGUID>\Deletion Thread Period

If the Exchange Server Analyzer finds that the Deletion Thread Period key is present and configured, a non-default configuration message is displayed.

When you delete a message, Exchange marks the message for deletion. Exchange also marks the message as hidden until it is permanently deleted from the Exchange store. When the information store receives a request to delete a message in a particular folder referenced by the Message ID, the Exchange store determines whether the message should be soft deleted or hard deleted. Soft deletion is also referred to as logical deletion, and hard deletion is also referred to as physical deletion. The message is permanently deleted after its deleted item retention period has elapsed.

By default, a dumpster cleanup process runs every 24 hours that determines whether it is time to hard delete an item. The dumpster cleanup process is part of the Exchange store online maintenance process. If the deleted item retention period has elapsed, the item will be hard deleted. The Deletion Thread Period registry value is used to override the default 24-hour interval and specify a custom interval for the dumpster cleanup process.

Important:
This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to restore the registry, view the "Restore the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or Regedt32.exe.

To revert to the default configuration

  1. Open a registry editor, such as Regedit.exe or Regedt32.exe.

  2. Navigate to: HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\<ServerName>\Public-<PublicFolderStoreGUID>

  3. Delete the Deletion Thread Period key.

  4. Close the registry editor.

Before you edit the registry, and for information about how to edit the registry, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article 256986, "Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry" (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=3052&kbid=256986).

For more information about deleted item retention and recovery, see the following Knowledge Base articles: