Unable to restore individual exchange 2007 mailbox using GRT to RSG, error 0xe000ff00

[Math362]

When trying to do an individual mailbox restore using GRT to an Exchange RSG, I get this error: 
 

Final error: 0xe000ff00 - Unable to restore some Microsoft Exchange components because one or more of the databases are currently mounted or because the Recovery Storage Group is not properly configured.
 

I’m trying to restore an individual mailbox from a backup on tape. The backup is from an exchange 2007 server SP1 running on windows server 2003 = “ServerA”

The backup was taken done with backup exec v12, running on another server, let’s call this “ServerB”
 

I get the error when running the restore job on ServerB with a selection list containing the mailbox in the first storage group of the exchange server ServerA.

• I created an RSG (recovery storage group) from scratch on the Exchange Server with an empty unmounted database with the same name as the original one.
• In the recovery job on ServerB: checked the setting: “Redirect to Recovery Storage Group (RSG) (Exchange 2007 only)”
• In the general backup exec settings GRT is enabled and there is a valid path for the temporary storage of restore data for exchange.
• Even added permissions on the GRT folder for the backup user but without result. (folder level)

I don’t know if offhost backup options were configured properly when the backup job was done, could it be due to this, is there a way to check this somewhere ?  

[Colin_Weaver]

RSG is intended so that a full store can be restored and mounted in a manner that allows access  to the content for export as PST files etc. It was Microsoft's mult-stage method to allow you to get at individual mailbox data without having to build a complete offline mail server to restore to. It's use involved restoring your complete information store into the RSG and the exporting thet required data to PST.  It is however not designed to accept a restore of individual data into the RSG itself.

Backup Exec GRT is designed to allow the restore of individual data directly into a live store thus bypassing the need for an RSG and needing to use PST files to return the data to the user. This operation can be performed back to the original mailbox or as a redirect - sorry have not been able to find a good document explaining the steps.

With your issue, In effect if you are selecting a mailbox but intending to restore to an RSG - you are mixing two different technologies designed to provide the ability to restore individual items in different ways so it is perhaps not surprising that you receive an error message.

Backup Exec still supports the RSG restore mechanism because you may have performed a backup where GRT was not enabled or may have a technical reason why GRT itself is not working.

Information on using an RSG (Symantec)
http://entsupport.symantec.com/docs/264815

Information on using an RSG (Microsoft)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/824126

[Math362]

Hello Colin, thanks for the useful feedback.

I tried to avoid using the RSG so I did two tests:

First I created a new mailbox and tried a redirected restore to that mailbox
Second I disabled the "microsoft exchange redirection" to do a GRT restore in the existing mailbox of the user

On both occasions I got the same error E000FF00 which makes me think maybe GRT was not enabled during the backup  (this is a backup of 7 months old so there is no way to check it in the job)

Is there any way to check if GRT was enabled for a backup that you have on tape?  (same for offhost backup options: is there a way to check how those were configured when the backup was done if the job is no longer in the job history?)

I also considered restoring the full database to the RSG but this is not possible at the moment due to disk space limit. 

[Colin_Weaver]

It looks like that error can be seen if you do not have the correct credentials for Exchange to do a restore - the credentials need to be at least a Full Exchange Admin and have a unique mailbox (this means first 5 characters of the mailbox must not match another mailbox) and the mailbox must NOT be hidden from the Global Address List.

Also if you can drill down through the restore selections into the information stores and then open a mailbox down to message level then you did a GRT backup.

[Math362]

I can select items down to message level so now I'm sure GRT was enabled.  Thanks!

The credentials of the user for backup/restore, is full exchange admin indeed, also it does have a unique mailbox and is not hidden from the global address list.  I also gave that user full admin rights on the mailbox just to be sure.  Followed all the steps from this article http://seer.entsupport.symantec.com/docs/312373.htm

The error text is also quite confusing: "Unable to restore the selected Microsoft Exchange databases because one or more of the storage group..."
It is the aim of GRT to restore into a live store so it doesn't make sense.

These are the other links provided by the link in the job log but I can't find any solution there either
http://www.symantec.com/business/support/knowledge_base_sli.jsp?umi=EvtID=V-79-57344-65280

I am considering setting up an exchange server just to do this restore but I'm not sure if a restore to another server will be possible either...  

Here is the full error I get:

Unable to restore the selected Microsoft Exchange databases because one or more of the storage group's databases are mounted.  Use the Exchange System Manager to dismount all the databases for the storage group 'First Storage Group', and then retry the job.
V-79-57344-65217 - An error occurred while completing the operation on \\-------------\Microsoft Information Store\First Storage Group
A failure occurred performing the post-restore operation.

[Mike_Rappleyea]

I am having the exact same issue. What version of MAPI do I need?

[Mike_Rappleyea]

I am having the exact same issue. What version of MAPI do I need?

[Math362]

How is MAPI related to this issue?

[Math362]

sorry just found this in the backup exec admin guide: 


Exchange Server requirements Description
To support Exchange Server 2007 Download the Microsoft Exchange Server MAPI Client
and Collaboration Data Objects package and install it on
Exchange Server 2007.
This package provides support for the following:
◆ The restore of individual mailboxes, mail messages,
and public folders from an Information Store backup.
◆ The collection of catalog information for a backup for
which the Granular Recovery Technology option is
enabled and the destination device is tape.
You can find this package on the Microsoft Web site.

[Math362]

Checked our mapi version: 6.5.8022.0  (properties of emsmdb32.dll)