One or more users currently use a mailbox store on Exchange 2003

When trying to remove Exchange from my last 3k server from an exchange ’07
Organization, after following all the steps to prepare for removing it up to
and including deleting both Mailbox Store and Public Folder store and
removing the Databases, I ran into this problem.
Run the Setup program from the Exchange 2000 CD or from the Exchange 2003 CD
to remove Exchange 2000 or Exchange 2003. For more information, click the
following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge
Base:
260378 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/260378/) How to manually remove an
Exchange 2000 installation
833396 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/833396/) How to remove Exchange
Server 2003 from your computer
Note You may receive the following error message when you try to remove
Exchange Server:
The component "Microsoft Exchange Messaging and Collaboration Services"
cannot be assigned the action "Remove" because:
– One or more users currently use a mailbox store on this server. These
users must be moved to a mailbox store on a different server or be mail
disabled before uninstalling this server.
Unfortunately the only information I could find on the topic requires the
Mailbox Store still be mountable on the 3k exchange server. Once it has been
deleted none of the search options listed in articles were able to help me
identify those accounts causing the problem.
If you are receiving the same error message as above, and you have already
deleted your mailbox store, follow these steps to resolve your situation:
Open AD users and computers
Click View and select advanced settings
Right Click the domain and select Find
In the Find Window click the Advanced tab
Click View and select Choose Columns
Add in Exchange Mailbox Store and Exchange Home Server
Click Field under User select Exchange Mailbox Store
Click Condition Dropdown and select ‘Not Present’
Click Add
Click Find Now
Scroll through the list of accounts until you find the one(s) with a
property listed under Exchange Home Server
Make sure that property matches your old exchange server you are trying to
remove. You’ll notice the account has a Home Server but no Mailbox Store.
Open Exchange Management Console on the Exchange ’07 server you wish to move
those accounts to.
Under Recipient Configuration click Mailbox.
Right click Mailbox and select New Mailbox
Leave User Mailbox selected and click Next
Next page is user type, select Existing User and click Add
Locate the account you found in the search
You can click Add and select any other accounts you found in there which
meet the same criteria as many times as you need to.
Once you have all the accounts added in, Click next and finish creating the
mailbox(s).
Go back to your AD search window and click ‘Find Now’ to re-run the search.
Those accounts should not show up, there should be no accounts with Exchange
Home Server properties and No Mailbox Store.
Go back to your old exchange server and start Add Remove Programs again and
try to remove Exchange, it should work fine now.
—
Michael E. McAteer
Network Engineer
MCSA, MCSE, CNA, A+

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