Need to Purge DiscoveryHolds Data from Archive Mailbox in Exchange Online
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 Details Service: Exchange Online Mailbox: email address removed for privacy reasons Archive mailbox size: ~335 GB DiscoveryHolds subfolders contain the bulk of the data. Background : 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 Status PS H:\> Get-Mailbox -Identity email address removed for privacy reasons -Archive | fl *hold* LitigationHoldEnabled : False RetentionHoldEnabled : False EndDateForRetentionHold : StartDateForRetentionHold : LitigationHoldDate : LitigationHoldOwner : ComplianceTagHoldApplied : True DelayHoldApplied : False DelayReleaseHoldApplied : False LitigationHoldDuration : Unlimited SCLDeleteThreshold : SCLRejectThreshold : SCLQuarantineThreshold : SCLJunkThreshold : InPlaceHolds : {-mbx23233XXXXXX, -mbx212433XXXXXX} RecipientThrottlingThreshold : Standard PS H:\> Get-MailboxFolderStatistics -Identity email address removed for privacy reasons -Archive -FolderScope RecoverableItems | ft Name,ItemsInFolder,FolderAndSubfolderSize Recoverable Items : 0 335.2 GB DiscoveryHolds : 80495 335.2 GB DiscoveryHolds_2022 : 177 20.7 MB DiscoveryHolds_2023 : 350 88.12 MB DiscoveryHolds_2024 : 4117 1.34 GB DiscoveryHolds_2025 (multiple subfolders): 47 GB – 55 GB each Issue : 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.Exchange database dismounted due to NTFS file extent limit reached – unexpected outage
Hi everyone, We experienced a serious outage on our Exchange 2016 server recently, and I wanted to share what we found during the root cause analysis – in case it helps someone else avoid the same scenario. Summary: After digging deep, we discovered that the issue was caused by the NTFS file system hitting its internal file extent limit on the .edb file. Once this threshold was reached, the database could no longer grow, and the system dismounted the database unexpectedly. No prior warning, just service interruption. Details: The .edb was around 1.2 TB in size. This isn’t a limit on database size itself — it’s about how fragmented the file is on disk. Once NTFS couldn’t track any more extents, the database stopped working. Microsoft doesn’t publish a clear fix for this; only scattered references to similar behavior in past cases. What we did: Created a fresh, clean database. Manually moved user mailboxes into the new DB. The old database couldn't be mounted anymore, so we brought the system live without historical mail – just to maintain continuity. We're now working on extracting data from the unmounted .edb using third-party tools. Looking for thoughts: Has anyone else hit the NTFS extent wall with Exchange? How do you monitor extent growth proactively? Did switching to ReFS solve this for you long-term? Open to any input or similar experiences – appreciate it in advance. Thanks!
Help please! Exchange report questions
Hello! I’m hoping someone can help clarify a few things about a deletion report I received. The report shows hard and soft deletes, but it seems to be missing information about moves and restores. I’m trying to understand the following: 1. **Hard Deletes:** * When something is hard deleted, does it go to the Purge folder, and is it still recoverable from there? * Is a “hard delete” simply what happens when someone empties their Deleted Items folder? * Can hard deletes happen accidentally? 2. **Limitations of the Report:** * Are there other reports that can show moves, restores, or whether an item is *currently* deleted? * My understanding is that this delete report only indicates that an item was deleted at some point, not its current status. Is that correct? 3. **Missing Message IDs:** * About half the entries in the report don’t include a message ID. Am I correct in assuming those items aren’t emails? If anyone is willing to chat or walk through this with me, I’d really appreciate it — I’m hoping to understand this report better. Any guidance or links to solid documentation would be truly appreciated. Thank you!
Can't add Viva Engage community calendar to Outlook
We would like to experiment with using the SharePoint Online Web part that allows you to display a group calendar on a SharePoint Online page. Our idea is to use a Viva Engage community as a means to create that group calendar so that the features of a community can also be used for this scenario. I assumed that it worked similarly to Microsoft Teams whereas along as the "HiddenFromExchangeClientsEnabled" property is FALSE for the connected group, that either all community admins/members would see the group calendar show up in Outlook automatically OR you could manually add the calendar in your calendar lists in Outlook. Neither seem to be the case. What's interesting about the group that connects to a Viva Engage community is the ""HiddenFromExchangeClientsEnabled" property is FALSE by default. However, the group calendar does not appear in Outlook. As a community admin, I tried to manually add the calendar and I get an error message "Couldn't add [group]. You may not have permissions". Does anyone know why I'm running into that error and/or why the group mailbox is not showing up in Outlook by default since the property states that it is not hidden? Is it not possible to view Viva Engage group calendars in Outlook? Thanks!
Assist me with Shared Mailbox Alias Configuration in Outlook 365
We have a shared mailbox with different email alias configurations for various applications. Each application needs to send emails using its respective alias. Shared Mailbox Name: email address removed for privacy reasons Application 1: From email ID – email address removed for privacy reasons Application 2: From email ID – email address removed for privacy reasons Similarly, I need to define aliases for each application. Could you please assist me with setting this up in Outlook 365? Additionally, could you explain if there are any limitations related to using aliases?
Manged Home Screen: Outlook
We are running into issues with the Managed Home Screen and Outlook. Once the user has logged into the Managed Home Screen and tries to access Outlook, it gets stuck in an authentication loop. Loops: Discovering Accounts -> Accounts Found -> Back to Discovering accounts. This is affecting multiple devices/accounts. This only affects
Microsoft Authenticator issues
I’m simply locked out of my personal account because I lost access to my 2FA and the recovery form rejects due to active two-step verification. I’ve tried my verifying email and phone number but it rejects is due the active two step verification. I need manual identity verification or an escalation so my 2FA can be reset. Can you point me to the correct support channel for personal account recovery, because the link you sent is not working
Request for Manual 2FA Reset – Locked Out Despite Outlook App Access
I lost access to my Microsoft Authenticator because my old phone was factory-reset. Since then, I can’t sign in anywhere because I’m always asked for a 2FA code. Alternative verification methods (SMS/email) are also blocked due to too many attempts. The account recovery form is not available because 2FA was enabled, and the form gets automatically rejected. However, I am still signed in to the Outlook app on my old phone, but I cannot access any security settings or Microsoft account pages from within the app. This means I cannot change my 2FA options or disable two-step verification. I urgently need a manual reset of my 2FA or access to advanced identity verification, so I can prove ownership and regain access to my account.
