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Q246153: XCLN: How to Recover Items That Have Been Hard Deleted

Article: Q246153
Product(s): Microsoft Exchange
Version(s): 5.5,8.01,8.02,8.03
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbenv kbfile
Last Modified: 09-JUL-2002

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Exchange Server, version 5.5 
- Microsoft Outlook 97, versions 8.01, 8.02, 8.03 
- Microsoft Outlook 98 
- Microsoft Outlook 2000 
- Microsoft Outlook 2002 
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IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you 
modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore 
the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the 
registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SUMMARY
=======

This article describes how to recover items that have been "hard deleted"; for
example, if you do not move items to the Deleted Items folder before you delete
them, these items have been hard deleted.

MORE INFORMATION
================

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems
that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot
guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor
incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

When you delete items from a folder in a mailbox, the items first are shifted to
the Deleted Items folder in the mailbox. You can then delete these items from
the Deleted Items folder. This functionality protects you from accidentally
deleting an item. After you delete the items from the Deleted Items folder,
these items can still be recovered if the Exchange Server 5.5 computer has been
configured to retain deleted items. To determine if the server has been
configured in this manner, open the properties of the public and private
information store objects under the Server object.

For additional information, click the article number about how to configure the
server to retain deleted items below to view the article about how to configure
the server to retain deleted items in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q246283 XADM: Set Deleted Mail Message Retention Time in Exchange Server 5.5

It is also possible to permanently delete items without first moving them to the
Deleted Items folder. This procedure is called a "hard delete" as opposed to a
"soft delete".

Messages are hard deleted in the following scenarios:

- You are using Microsoft Outlook, and you press SHIFT+DELETE to delete a
  message.

- You are working an Internet Message Access Protocol 4 (IMAP4) client or
  another type of client that does not first move the message to the Deleted
  Items folder.

By default, the Recover Deleted Items functionality is only enabled on the
Deleted Items folder in a user's private folders; items that are hard deleted
cannot be recovered. To enable the Recover Deleted Items functionality on mail
folders other than Deleted Items (for example, for Sent Items, Drafts, Outbox
and Inbox folders), you must make the following changes to the registry:

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).

2. Locate and click the following key in the registry:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Exchange\Client\Options

3. On the Edit menu, click Add Value, and then add the following registry value:

  Value name: DumpsterAlwaysOn
  Data type: DWORD
  Value data: 1

4. Quit Registry Editor.

You can use an administrator's computer or a user's computer to make this change
to the registry. After you change the registry, start Outlook, and then click
Deleted Item Recovery on the Tools menu. A list of items that have been hard
deleted during the retention time set on the server is displayed.

If you are an administrator, you can set this functionality for all user
workstations. To do so, use your computer to change the registry for all user
workstations, and then open the affected user's mailbox as an additional
mailbox. You can then recover deleted items from the user's mailbox mail
folders.

NOTE: If you are an administrator, and you want to open another user's mailbox to
recover items in the user's private folders, your Windows NT account must have
User permissions for that user's mailbox object. You must also add that user's
mailbox to your own profile:

1. Open Control Panel, and then double-click Mail.

2. Open the Services properties, and then double-click Microsoft Exchange
  Server.

3. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Add to add the mailbox to your
  profile.

The Recover Deleted Items functionality in Outlook 98, Outlook 2000, Outlook 2002
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Outlook 98, the Recover Deleted Items functionality is available only for mail
folders (for example, Deleted Items, Drafts, Inbox, Outbox and Sent Items
folders). Therefore, items that are hard-deleted from non-mail folders (for
example, Contacts and Notes folders) cannot be recovered. However, in Outlook
2000 and Outlook 2002, the Recover Deleted Items functionality is available for
all folders; if you make the registry change described earlier in this article,
you can recover hard-deleted items from non-mail folders.

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in
the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q228934 XCLN: Understanding Deleted Item Recovery

  Q180117 XADM: Recovering Deleted Items from a Public Folder

  Q175263 XADM: Clients Cannot Recover Items After Item Recovery Is Enabled

  Q188637 XADM: How to Determine the Size of Recoverable Items in the
  Information Store

  Q178630 XADM: How to Recover Items That Do Not Touch the Deleted Items Folder

Additional query words: Dumpster

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Keywords          : kbenv kbfile 
Technology        : kbOutlookSearch kbExchangeSearch kbExchange550 kbOutlook2002 kbZNotKeyword2 kbOutlook2000Search kbOutlook2002Search kbOutlook97Search kbOutlook98Search kbZNotKeyword3 kbOutlook801 kbOutlook802 kbOutlook803
Version           : :5.5,8.01,8.02,8.03
Hardware          : x86
Issue type        : kbhowto

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