by

How to remove the Exchange 2013 Mailbox role and Exchange from your Windows Server

Id done this a few times and sometimes I can remember the sequence and sometimes I would forget. There are serious consequences to forgetting.  It takes forever to go back and keep running the removal and fail. The client access role will remove fairly smoothly.With Server 2012, you will find instructions below.  The mail role requires that every object be addressed before the role will come out successfully. Below find the steps to get the mail role and Exchange decommissioned from your server. Once this is completed, go to AD and remove all evidence of Exchange in your ADUC. delete all the security groups, folders, , monitoring and system guids, etc… then you can remove any IIS app pools , folders entries, and registry evidence of Exchange if desired. Reboot your System and begin with Prepare Schema again.

Remove Mailbox Role Exchange 2013

1. Get-user | disable-mailbox
2. Get-PartnerApplication| Remove-PartnerApplication
3. Get-mailboxdatabase
4. Use 3 to run- Get-Mailbox -Arbitration -Database ‘Mailbox Database xxxxxxxxxx’ | Disable-Mailbox -Arbitration
-DisableLastArbitrationMailboxAllowed
5. Get-MailboxDatabase | Get-MailboxStatistics | Where { $_.DisconnectReason -eq “Disabled” } | ft  DisplayName,Database,DisconnectDate
6. Get-Mailbox -Monitoring | Disable-Mailbox
7.>Get-MailboxDatabase | Remove-MailboxDatabase
8. See that database is now deleted with  – Get-MailboxDatabase | Get-MailboxStatistics | Where { $_.DisconnectReason -eq “Disabled” } | ft  DisplayName,Database,DisconnectDate
9. Physically delete the database and log files (leave the mailbox folder for now)
10. verify nothing is left – Get-MailboxStatistics -Database ‘Mailbox Database 0039199658’ | where {$_.DisconnectReason -eq “SoftDeleted”} |foreach {Remove-StoreMailbox -Database $_.database -Identity $_.mailboxguid -MailboxState SoftDeleted}
11. get-mailbox
12 get-mailbox -arbitration
13. get-mailbox -monitoring

At this point reboot the server and verify that IIS and other roles are working correctly. As an extreme measure, you may also remove the prerequisites and reinstall them. (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb691354(v=exchg.150).aspx)

Finally, begin again-
14 cmd -> Setup /Mode:Uninstall /iacceptexchangeserverlicenseterms

Leave a comment