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When you conduct a migration of Exchange Server to either another version of Exchange Server or Exchange Online, then you need to run the move request to complete the migration. The Move Request uses many parameters and switches, and each parameter has a dedicated task to complete. One of these parameters is Bad Item List. It sets a limit for bad items during the migration. You can consider a mailbox item as a bad when the Move Request is unable to migrate it. When you have selected a bad item limit, but still it exceeds, then you have to face the following error
This mailbox exceeded the maximum number of corrupted items that were specified for this move request.”
The error denotes that the number of corrupt items has more than permitted and so you need to update the limit for a smooth migration. Run the cmdlet given below to change the bad item limit for the move request if following:
When the request is executed, it will allow skipping up to 10 corrupt items from the migration. But when the number of items exceeds, it will give the above error. No default value is set for this parameter, and you can input any number as a bad item limit. Microsoft advises putting a reasonable value lesser than 10.
The reason behind the error
The reason behind the error is the corrupt items in the Exchange Database. The move request will not migrate the bad items and skip them. But as soon as it reaches the bad items limit, it will show the error instantly. It will also pause the migration process in midway, and you need to remove the error by making the appropriate changes.
Here are some manual methods which you can use to remove the error:
1. Update the move request.
After receiving the error, you should update the move request which you had created earlier. Increase the bad limit to a higher acceptable limit. If you increase the limit to more than 50, then you need to use the AcceptLargeDataLoss switch.
Now, you will not have to face the error up to 75 corrupt database items.
2. Use the ESEUTIL tool
ESEUTIL is a free utility available within the Exchange Server which you can use ESEUTIL tool for identify the corruption and repair it using various switches. You can find the ESEUTIL tool at the following location:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Bin
When you start the ESEUTIL tool, there are a list of switches which are useful for different jobs:
/D It will defragment the database.
/K It will verify the checksum of the database.
/P It will repair the database.
/R It will restore the database.
/C It will hard recover the database.
/G It will check the integrity of the database.
Here is the process which you should follow with the help of ESEUTIL tool:
- Run the command
- Run the command in ESEUTIL:
- After recovering the database, run the command:
Mount-MailboxDatabase -Identity “DatabaseName”
It will mount the database back to the Exchange Server.
It will dismount the database from Exchange Server.
It will repair the database and remove all the errors.
When you have repaired the database, you can once again start the move request and try to migrate the database to a higher version of Exchange or Exchange Online.
Limitation of manual methods
Both the manual methods which you read above are useful, but they do not provide any guarantee to remove the bad item issue. If the number of corrupt items is more than the new limit, then you will have to face the error again. The ESEUTIL tool can not only repair the database but also delete the corrupt item rather than restoring it. So, you should go for any professional tool which works as an EDB to PST converter.
Kernel for Exchange Server
It is a high-rated Kernel for Exchange Server tool which can access the database file from its location and fix any corruption. You also don’t need to run the move request after recovering the database as the tool itself can migrate the recovered items to any desired location. It is the best option which you can apply when you face the bad item limit error.
