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Troubleshooting

Exchange Management Shell Issues​

EMS Not Working - Use PowerShell Directly​

Import Exchange modules manually (version-specific):

# Exchange 2007
Add-PSSnapin Microsoft.Exchange.Management.PowerShell.Admin

# Exchange 2010
Add-PSSnapin Microsoft.Exchange.Management.PowerShell.E2010

# Exchange 2013 & 2016
Add-PSSnapin Microsoft.Exchange.Management.PowerShell.SnapIn

Remove Disabled Mailboxes​

List Disabled Mailboxes in Database​

Get-MailboxStatistics -Database Manager |
    Where-Object {$_.DisconnectReason -eq "Disabled"} |
    Format-List

Remove Disabled Mailbox by GUID​

# Get mailbox GUID from previous command
Remove-StoreMailbox -Database Manager `
    -Identity "d719c6ff-4e66-46f9-b297-300bea5d5951" `
    -MailboxState Disabled

Remove-StoreMailbox -Database Manager `
    -Identity "06e0eb65-c51d-45a0-a368-812fd79416e2" `
    -MailboxState Disabled

Reference: Remove-StoreMailbox Documentation

Virtual Directory Issues​

Rebuild OWA Virtual Directory​

# Remove old directory
Remove-OwaVirtualDirectory "server\owa (Default Web Site)"

# Create new directory
New-OwaVirtualDirectory `
    -InternalUrl "https://mail.contoso.com/owa" `
    -ExternalUrl "https://mail.contoso.com/owa"

Rebuild ECP Virtual Directory​

# Remove old directory
Remove-EcpVirtualDirectory -Identity "server\ecp (Default Web Site)"

# Create new directory
New-EcpVirtualDirectory `
    -InternalUrl "https://mail.contoso.com/ecp" `
    -ExternalUrl "https://mail.contoso.com/ecp"

Rebuild Backend Web Applications​

# Remove backend applications
Remove-WebApplication -Site "Exchange Back End" -Name owa
Remove-WebApplication -Site "Exchange Back End" -Name ecp

# Recreate OWA backend
New-WebApplication -Site "Exchange Back End" -Name owa `
    -PhysicalPath "C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\ClientAccess\owa" `
    -ApplicationPool MSExchangeOWAAppPool

# Recreate ECP backend
New-WebApplication -Site "Exchange Back End" -Name ecp `
    -PhysicalPath "C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\ClientAccess\ecp" `
    -ApplicationPool MSExchangeECPAppPool

Configure Backend Authentication​

For OWA:

Set-OwaVirtualDirectory -Identity "server\owa (Exchange Back End)" `
    -WindowsAuthentication $True `
    -BasicAuthentication $False `
    -FormsAuthentication $False

# Restart IIS
iisreset /noforce

For ECP:

# Start PowerShell
Add-PSSnapin *exchange*

Set-EcpVirtualDirectory -Identity "server\ecp (Exchange Back End)" `
    -WindowsAuthentication $True `
    -FormsAuthentication $False

# Restart IIS
iisreset /noforce

Exchange Management Console Issues​

EMC Cannot Open Properly​

  1. Close all Exchange Management Console instances
  2. Delete registry key: 
    HKCU\Software\Microsoft\ExchangeServer\v14\AdminTools\NodeStructureSettings
  3. Reopen Exchange Management Console

Transport & Anti-Spam​

Install Anti-Spam Agents​

& $env:ExchangeInstallPath\Scripts\Install-AntiSpamAgents.ps1
Restart-Service MSExchangeTransport

Configure Internal SMTP Servers​

# Add internal SMTP servers
Set-TransportConfig -InternalSMTPServers @{Add="10.0.1.10","10.0.1.11"}

# Verify
Get-TransportConfig | Format-List InternalSMTPServers

Check Transport Agents​

Get-TransportAgent

Get-ContentFilterConfig | Format-Table Name, Enabled
Get-SenderFilterConfig | Format-Table Name, Enabled
Get-SenderIDConfig | Format-Table Name, Enabled
Get-SenderReputationConfig | Format-Table Name, Enabled

Configure Content Filter​

# Block blank senders
Set-SenderFilterConfig -BlankSenderBlockingEnabled $true

# Bypass specific senders
Set-ContentFilterConfig -BypassedSenders itsys@contoso.com,admin@contoso.com

# Add trusted domains to all mailboxes
Get-Mailbox -RecipientTypeDetails UserMailbox |
    Set-MailboxJunkEmailConfiguration `
        -TrustedSendersAndDomains @{Add="contoso.com","partner.com"}

# Disable content filter
Set-ContentFilterConfig -Enabled $False

Uninstall Anti-Spam Agents​

Uninstall-TransportAgent -Identity "Content Filter Agent"
Uninstall-TransportAgent -Identity "Sender Id Agent"
Uninstall-TransportAgent -Identity "Protocol Analysis Agent"

Disable Anti-Malware Scanning​

# Check current status
Get-TransportAgent "Malware Agent"

# Disable malware scanning
& $env:ExchangeInstallPath\Scripts\Disable-AntimalwareScanning.ps1

# Restart transport service
Restart-Service MSExchangeTransport

# Verify
Get-TransportAgent "Malware Agent"

Uninstall Anti-Spam Agents Completely​

# Navigate to scripts folder
cd "$env:ExchangeInstallPath\Scripts"

# Run uninstall script
.\Uninstall-AntispamAgents.ps1

# Restart transport service
Restart-Service MSExchangeTransport

Organization Config​

Meeting Request Sender Display​

Configure the sender address for meeting requests and system messages:

# Check current setting
Get-OrganizationConfig | Format-List MicrosoftExchangeRecipientPrimarySmtpAddress

# Disable email address policy
Set-OrganizationConfig -MicrosoftExchangeRecipientEmailAddressPolicyEnabled $False

# Set custom address
Set-OrganizationConfig -MicrosoftExchangeRecipientPrimarySmtpAddress admin@contoso.com

# Check postmaster address
Get-TransportService | Format-List Identity, ExternalPostMasterAddress

# Set postmaster address
Set-TransportConfig -ExternalPostMasterAddress postmaster@contoso.com

Note: If MicrosoftExchangeRecipientEmailAddressPolicyEnabled is set to $false, you must manually add new email addresses to the Microsoft Exchange recipient when email address policies are added or modified.

Message Tracking​

Track Messages by Recipient and Time​

Get-MessageTrackingLog -ResultSize Unlimited `
    -Start "3/4/2023 00:00AM" `
    -End "3/5/2023 23:59PM" `
    -Recipients effie.chen@contoso.com > C:\effielog.txt

IIS Log Cleanup​

Clear IIS logs to free up disk space (command not shown in original document - add your preferred method).