Using ExMerge to Export to PST in Exchange 2003 Server For Free

Consider the following scenario:
“I am having the Exchange server 2003 environment in my company and have been asked for exporting couple of its mailboxes in PST file format. Is it possible to perform the same job, can someone propose a solution for the same on how to do this?”
There might be several causes that arises need to directly export mailboxes from the Exchange store. It is a general fact that users might be looking for a hosted workaround, either for migrating data in a new organization having Exchange or simply for having backup of the Exchange mailboxes via ExMerge tool. This type of query comes from many Exchange users who do not want to continue staying on Exchange 2003 platform but, want a fresh start and carry mailboxes along with them. Therefore, in the further section, one is going to track solution for using ExMerge to export to PST in Exchange 2003.


Overview on ExMerge – An Exchange Migration Tool


ExMerge software: A free utility provided by Microsoft, whose main purpose is to retrieve mailboxes from the primary Exchange server and then, merge them on the secondary Exchange server. The application is capable of copying emails from the initial server to personal folders of Outlook and merging them into the targeted server. It has potential of combining files to and from the Exchange server.

Points to Remember:

  • The freeware does not operate upon the front-end servers because these servers does not comprises of the mailbox store.
  • It requires Windows 2000 Service pack 3 and Windows server 2003 as system requirement, at installation time.
  • It is mandatory to accept installation terms and conditions while installing the utility
  • One needs to run .exe setuo file from C:\Program Files\exchsrve\bin folder
Tip: ExMerge utility generates its log file at C:\ExMerge.log location, which is storing errors that occurred at the time of installation.


Way For Using ExMerge to export a mailbox to a PST on Exchange 2003


  • Click on https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/download/details.aspx?id=2743 link to download setup of ExMerge tool
  • Double-click on the setup file of downloaded software and simultaneously, log into your Exchange server account. An Exchange Mailbox Merge window will get opened in front of you
  • Choose Extract and Import (One-Step Procedure) option and hit on Next




  • A Data Selection Criteria wizard will get displayed in front of you where you have to click on Import Procedure tab and enable Archive data to target store option. Hit on Apply to save the changes
  • Select the Message Details tab from same wizard and fill up all the required fields. After mentioning all the required details, take a look at them and click Apply >> OK

  • The mailboxes, which exist on the Exchange server will be displayed on current screen where you have to choose mailboxes, which you want to save in .pst, and click on Next  while using exmerge to export a mailbox to a pst on exchange 2003.
  • In case you want to change default location of resultant PST file then, click on Change Folder button for updating the file location. 

  • At last, click on Next to begin the Exchange to PST migration with help of ExMerge utility. You will be able to track live process status in front of you


  • When the migration gets completed, the status bar of the progress report will get full and Finish button will automatically get enabled. Click on Finish to close the wizard 

More About ExMerge Utility


This application is totally free of cost, which offers its users date-based filtering option at the time of migration. However, when one is using ExMerge to export to PST in Exchange 2003, he/she might be facing following drawbacks or limitations:
  • The solution is not applicable for Exchange server 2007
  • It will convert EDB mailbox file only upto 2GB of its size
  • There is risk of data loss while performing migration with it
  • A way full of hurdles while restoring data damaged EDB file
An Automated Solution to Export EDB to PST

Undoubtedly, solution using exmerge to export a mailbox to a pst on exchange 2003 is remarkable however, there are some drawbacks of using this manual procedure. This approach relies only for those users who are technically skilled and afford data loss while performing migration. Therefore, fight out from this situation, there is an application recommended to end users i.e., EDB to PST Freeware. This program is free from any type of risk and also supports EDB file of any size while performing migration. Talking about migration from corrupt EDB mailboxes then, it is possible to do this with help of the software.

Lets Conclude Our Thoughts

Using ExMerge to export to PST in Exchange 2003 involves migration of only EDB files upto 2GB file. Apart from this, there are numerous limitations of performing migration with help of this freeware. Therefore, a tool is recommended to the Exchange users for making journey of Exchange to PST migration smooth, easy and convenient. 

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