Exchange server stores the data and user’s mailbox contents in the form of an EDB file. An EDB file can become corrupted or unavailable due to Exchange server failures, malware or virus attacks, maintenance issues etc. Such an EDB file must be repaired or recovered and is said to be offline. Offline EDB files cannot be opened normally and require certain manual methods or third party tools to recover or open them. Sometimes it is essential to just open the EDB files to view certain important contents or export them to another format.
How to open and recover EDB files
Before opening the offline EDB files, there are certain prerequisites to ensure
- Proper access to the Exchange server
- EDB file has already been mounted on the Exchange server
- The Exchange database has to be in the shut down state
- Intact EDB files without any corruption
There are certain manual methods of viewing and recovering corrupted EDB files, but they come with some caveats as listed below
- Manual methods are not usually suited for large scale operations.
- Viewing and recovering EDB files from the command prompts requires knowledge of the PowerShell scripts.
- EDB files can be converted to PST for easy viewing in Microsoft Outlook. But manually converting EDB to PST file from the Exchange Admin Center (EAC) requires active internet connection and consumes time.
- Advanced options like target PST file split, selective recovery options are not available when converting from EDB to PST.
- Using wrong commands might result in partial or even complete data loss.
Easily open EDB files using EdbMails free EDB Viewer
With the help of EdbMails free EDB viewer tool, you can open and view all the data from Exchange database EDB file with ease including corrupted EDB files. The folder structure is maintained intact so that you can find what you are looking for effortlessly. EDB viewer features a simple and straightforward user interface which lets you view EDB data in just a few clicks.
The EDB viewer is completely free, easy to install and use. It also supports all Exchange versions including the latest iterations like Exchange 2016 and 2019. There is built-in support for both 32 bit and 64 bit versions of windows as well.
Step 1: The installation process is pretty straightforward.
- Download the setup from EdbMails website.
- Double click the EdbMails setup (EdbMailsSetup.exe) to install the application.
- Follow the on-screen instructions that appear to complete the installation.
Step 2: Login to the application after installing the software. You can also use the Start Your Free Trial option to test the functionality of the software.
Step 3: In the main screen, click on Free Tools as shown in the top right corner.
Step 4: Click on Free EDB Viewer
Step 5: Choose the EDB file by clicking the Browse for EDB button, and click on Continue. Your EDB files will be recovered and the mailboxes are displayed in the form of a tree view for easy selection.
Step 6: In the right pane, individual messages can be selected, viewed and can be saved as EML, MHT and HTML formats as well.
How to convert the EDB file to PST?
Once you have viewed the EDB file and its associated content, you can convert the mail items from the EDB file to PST for backup purposes using EdbMails EDB to PST converter tool.
Step 1: In the Home window, Select the option EDB to PST, EDB to Office 365 & Exchange and Continue.
Step 2: Choose the EDB file by clicking the Browse for EDB button, and click on Continue. Your EDB files will be recovered and the mailboxes are displayed in the form of a tree view for easy selection.
Step 3: Select the required mailboxes / folders and click the Export to Outlook PST button to continue. Alternatively, you can right click on the selected mailboxes / folders and select the option Export Selected Mailboxes / Folders to PST.
Step 4: Click the Continue button to start the Export operation. In this step, you have the option of applying filters to include/exclude items and folders for the export operation. There is also an option to split the target PST file, when it reaches a size set by the user.
Step 5: If the PST location has not been selected then the application will prompt to select the PST location. Select the PST location where you want to save the exported data. Ensure that you have enough free disk space to store the PST files.
That’s it! During export operation, you can view the progress as shown below.
Appropriate message will be displayed on completion of the export operation. Start Microsoft Outlook and open the PST file to verify the exported items such as emails, calendars, contacts etc.
Advantages of converting EDB to PST using EdbMails tool
- With EdbMails you can export a large number of mailboxes for professional needs.
- Does not require internet connectivity as EDB to PST is an offline export.
- Filter options are available to selectively filter emails based on attachments, keywords, sender and receivers.
- Junk folders can be excluded for export.
- Large size target PST file can be split based on size.
- Generates a log report for verification purposes.
- No need to login to EAC or have admin credentials to perform the conversion.
Product Demo
If you would like to know more about the working and features of this product, you can request for a live personalized demo using this link.
Free Trial
You can install the trial version and easily convert EDB to PST with a selected number of mail items.