Need to Purge DiscoveryHolds Data from Archive Mailbox in Exchange Online

Question

Hello Team,I am working on an Exchange Online mailbox where the archive mailbox has accumulated a large amount of data (over 335 GB) under the Recoverable Items → DiscoveryHolds folder. The mailbox is not on Litigation Hold or Retention Hold, and the InPlaceHolds property shows exclusions (-mbx...), so there are no active holds preventing deletion.Environment DetailsService: Exchange OnlineMailbox: email address removed for privacy reasonsArchive mailbox size: ~335 GBDiscoveryHolds subfolders contain the bulk of the data.Background :&nbsp; Initially, the user’s primary mailbox was full because more than 100 GB of data resided in the Recoverable Items folder of the primary mailbox.Since I was unable to delete the data, so as a workaround, I enabled the archive mailbox and moved the data there.I have raised multiple tickets with Microsoft, but after more than 45 days, I still do not have a proper resolution.Mailbox Hold StatusPS H:\&gt; Get-Mailbox -Identity email address removed for privacy reasons -Archive &nbsp;| fl *hold*&nbsp;&nbsp;LitigationHoldEnabled &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;: FalseRetentionHoldEnabled &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; : FalseEndDateForRetentionHold &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;:StartDateForRetentionHold &nbsp; &nbsp;:LitigationHoldDate &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; :LitigationHoldOwner &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;:ComplianceTagHoldApplied &nbsp; &nbsp; : TrueDelayHoldApplied &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; : FalseDelayReleaseHoldApplied &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;: FalseLitigationHoldDuration &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; : UnlimitedSCLDeleteThreshold &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; :SCLRejectThreshold &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; :SCLQuarantineThreshold &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; :SCLJunkThreshold &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; :InPlaceHolds &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; : {-mbx23233XXXXXX, -mbx212433XXXXXX}RecipientThrottlingThreshold : StandardPS H:\&gt; Get-MailboxFolderStatistics -Identity email address removed for privacy reasons -Archive -FolderScope RecoverableItems | ft Name,ItemsInFolder,FolderAndSubfolderSize&nbsp;Recoverable Items &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;: 0 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;335.2 GBDiscoveryHolds &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; : 80495 &nbsp;335.2 GBDiscoveryHolds_2022 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;: 177 &nbsp; &nbsp;20.7 MBDiscoveryHolds_2023 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;: 350 &nbsp; &nbsp;88.12 MBDiscoveryHolds_2024 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;: 4117 &nbsp; 1.34 GBDiscoveryHolds_2025 (multiple subfolders): 47 GB – 55 GB eachIssue :&nbsp;I need to purge only the DiscoveryHolds data from the archive mailbox without affecting other folders.I tried using Search-Mailbox , but received: The term 'Search-Mailbox' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet...I understand that Search-Mailbox is deprecated in Exchange Online. Also, the Content search is not very helpful. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

vasilmichev · Answer

You cannot purge items in DiscoveryHolds directly, best you can do is cleanup duplicates via:
Start-ManagedFolderAssistant user@domain.com -HoldCleanup
And you should check for org-wide holds. They will not appear under the InPlaceHolds property on the mailbox, and the fact that you have some exclusions therein does not mean that other org-wide holds are not in play. Moreover, the ComplianceTagHoldApplied property value confirms that you have at least one retention policy/label acting on the mailbox. So check via:
Get-OrganizationConfig | fl InPlaceHolds
and take the necessary actions. Refer to this article for more info: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/purview/ediscovery-identify-a-hold-on-an-exchange-online-mailbox&nbsp;

andydavid1 · Answer

Prob not the case for you, but verify that someone didn't enable Adaptive Protection in Purview. That places an org-wide hold on mailboxes - even ones that are flagged as risky.&nbsp;

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Need to Purge DiscoveryHolds Data from Archive Mailbox in Exchange Online

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