I'm reaching out for help because I'm in a tough spot. Our third-party vendor is tied up with other projects, and I need to resolve this ASAP. A user's mailbox is maxed out because they treat it like a document storage space, making it difficult to manage. I've been trying to empty the Deleted Items folder, but it just isn't working. Yesterday, I tried using Outlook Web Access to delete everything, but despite the process running, nothing actually got removed.
I then attempted to use the Exchange Online (EXO) Shell to handle it, but it hasn't worked out as planned. I learned that I must remove any holds on the mailbox first, so I disabled the litigation hold from the Exchange Online portal. However, when I went back to OWA to empty the Deleted Items folder, I was hit with a message saying I couldn't permanently delete these items and should check the Recoverable Items folder, which is empty.
I tried several commands from an exchange blog, including disabling recovery settings and starting the managed folder assistant, but even after waiting overnight, I'm still encountering the same issue. My attempts to check the Recoverable Items folder statistics show that the Discovery Holds are taking up a significant amount of space, and it's become clear there's an In Place Hold still on this mailbox.
What steps can I take to completely clear out the Deleted Items folder? I don't want to retain any emails; I just need them gone. Any advice or solutions would be greatly appreciated!
5 Answers
Once you remove a hold, a Delay Hold gets placed to avoid accidental deletions. You might want to check out Microsoft's documentation on managing Delay Holds and see how to lift that. After that, running the Managed Folder Assistant should help clear things up based on retention policies.
Hold up! Before you make any changes, find out why there’s a hold on that mailbox. Removing it might interfere with legal matters or compliance issues. It’s crucial to ensure you’re not messing with something important, especially with potential lawsuits involved.
Exactly! I've seen mailboxes get complicated when they have holds like that. Make sure you consult a compliance officer to understand the holds before deciding to remove anything.
Honestly, the issue seems like a mix of tech and organizational culture. If people are using mailboxes as file storage, that’s a problem in itself. Maybe it’s time to have a chat with management about proper storage solutions and licensing for expanded mailbox options.
If you’re struggling with legacy holds from an old on-prem server, you might need to manually clear those too. There are commands for that, so check out some resources on invoking the hold removal functions—it can sometimes get tricky.
Consider creating a 0-day Retention Policy for the Deleted Items folder. That might help trim down the excess quickly if I remember right. Also, enabling archive mailboxes can save you a lot of hassle.
Great tip! Just a heads up, it can take some time after running those commands for changes to actually take effect. Patience is key here.