How to remove default public folder from an Exchange 2010 database Print

Removing Public Folder Reference from an Exchange Mailbox Database

The following command is no longer supported in some Exchange versions and will return an error:

Set-MailboxDatabase MB-BR-01 -PublicFolderDatabase $null

To manually remove the association with the Public Folder database, you can use the ADSIEdit.msc tool.

Procedure using ADSIEdit.msc

1. Open ADSIEdit.msc on the Exchange server.
2. Browse to the following location:
   CN=Configuration → CN=Services → CN=Microsoft Exchange → CN=[YourOrganizationName] → CN=Administrative Groups → CN=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT) → CN=Databases
3. Locate the mailbox database you want to modify, right-click on it and choose Properties.
4. Scroll down to find the attribute msExchHomePublicMDB.
5. Select it, click Edit, then click Clear so the value becomes not set.
6. Confirm by clicking OK.

Depending on your AD replication latency, the changes might take some time to propagate across the network.

Once completed, you should be able to delete the Public Folder database without further issues.