Fix Error “Mailbox has Exceeded the Maximum Number of Corrupted items”

Admin | Modified: March 30th, 2022 ~ 5 Minutes Reading

Migration of an email setup from one version of Exchange Server to another is always a critical process. It needs proper planning, an expert execution, and various type of testing to complete it successfully. As the new version of Exchange Server releases and provide more advanced features then users start migrating from older versions to an upper version of the Exchange Server. To do so, there is various automated software available but at some point, there is still a requirement of the manual procedure. Moreover, if there is any mistake during migration it directly leads to corruption or data loss. In addition, it generates really complicated errors. One such type of error message is:

“This mailbox exceeded the maximum number of corrupted items that were specified for this move request”

Additional Trick: – Getting irritating error message Exchange mailbox has exceeded the maximum number of corrupted items. Convert Exchange EDB to PST format and resolve this issue easily.

It is a type of error that can also disturb the whole migration process. Therefore, after identifying the cause behind the occurrence of this error, various methods to rectify error “Mailbox Exceeded the Maximum Number of Corrupted items for this Request” are discussed.

Reason Behind this Error

Before directly jumping to the solution, first identify the root cause behind this error so that it can help in preventing the same error in the future. Below are the main reasons that mainly trigger this error:

The main reason behind the occurrence of this error is, if the mailbox has exceeds the maximum number of corrupt items during migration, then this error will definitely occur. It is because one can only migrate only finite number of Exchange mailbox. If the number of mailboxes exceeds the set limit, then migration process is paused in between.

Another possible reason behind this error is that the Exchange server itself is corrupted, which may also generate leads to this errors. It is because if a mailbox is corrupt then it must have corrupt emails or attachments. Hence, all such mailbox does not allow to be migrated.

This error is mainly seen during migration from Exchange Server 2010 and to all above versions Exchange.

Different Approaches to Resolve the Error

There are various manual approaches available that a user can use to fix error “Mailbox Exceeded the Maximum Number of Corrupted items that were Specified”. One can refer any of them based on their preference.

Approach #1: Use PowerShell Command to Increase the Corrupt Mailbox Limit

To alter the way Exchange Server perform migration process, one can use PowerShell and run complex internal commands. But, it is always suggested to run the commands with the help of some expert because any type of mistake may worse the corruption level and results in permanent data loss. Now, to increase the corrupt mailbox limit, follow the steps given below:

1. First of all, open PowerShell and make sure that you have admin rights

2. After that, type Get-MoveRequest command and press Enter key. Then, all mailboxes that are unable to migrate are listed

3. Now, run Set- Move Request command with 100 value

Point to Remember: One needs to have the AcceptLargeDataLoss switch if a user is setting the Bad Items limit close to 50.

Approach #2: Look for Corrupt Mailbox Items & Remove it from Quarantine

It is not the much preferable approach because it disables the isolation feature and allows corrupt mailbox to be a part of the migration. Therefore, if any other method does not work, then go for this solution. Follow the steps below:

1. First of all, run Get-mailbox-statistics-identity to get the GUID of the corrupted mailboxes

2. After that, hit F1 key

3. Then, look for the registry entry

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\Private-<db-guid>\Quarantinemailboxes\ <the mailbox guid>

4. Next, alter the key that mention GUID

5. In last, use iisreset command to restart IIS

The above method will remove corrupt mail items from isolation.

Approach #3. Use ESEUTIL Utility

An administrator can use the built-in Exchange ESEUTIL command. One can easily use this tool to perform both hard and soft recovery on offline Exchange Server. In order to use this tool, one must have administrator rights and must be technically stong.

Now, to repair the corrupt database, one can use this ESEUTIL command with the /p switch. After that, it is followed by Eseutil/d command in order to defragment the recovered database. In last, one can check the database using ISInteg command.

The Bottom Line

In the above post, a Professional EDB File to PST Converter and various other free solutions are discussed to fix “Mailbox has Exceeded the Maximum Number of Corrupted items” are discussed. There are various limitations in manual procedure due to which a user may fail to perform. To run manual process, user needs to be technically strong and if not done in a correct manner, then it may have an adverse effect. Thus to overcome all such limitations, a user is suggested to go for a professional solution.