Optimize Exchange Server 2003 mailbox sizes for Windows SBS 2008 Migration

  • Article

Updated: January 22, 2009

Applies To: Windows SBS 2008

It can take a long time to migrate large Exchange Server mailboxes. It will take less time if you reduce the size of the mailboxes before the migration. To help reduce the size of the mailboxes, ask each of the users to do the following:

For additional information about optimizing Exchange Server, see the Exchange Best Practices Analyzer at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=101795).

To empty the Deleted Items folder

  1. In the Microsoft Office Outlook® messaging client, click Tools in the toolbar, and then click Empty "Deleted Items" Folder.

  2. Click Yes on the warning dialog box.

To archive older mail

  1. In Outlook, click File in the toolbar, and then click Archive.

  2. In the Archive dialog box, click the down arrow in the Archive items older than text box.

Note

You must tell the users what date to select in the calendar that appears.

  1. If you want to make sure that all the older mail is included, select the Include items with "do not AutoArchive" checked check box.

  2. Click Archive all folders according to the AutoArchive settings at the top of the dialog box.

  3. Click OK.

    In Windows XP, the older mail is moved to the archive.pst file in C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook folder.

    In the Windows Vista® operating system, the older mail is moved to the archive.pst file in C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook folder.