Huge mail.que file on Exchange Server 2013

emailexchangeexchange-2013

I'm facing an issue with an huge mail.que file on the folder C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\TransportRoles\data\Queue.

One of our users created an redirect loop and the mailbox blow with more than 100k bounce messages, and this file ended up filling the whole C: drive.

I was reading on the web what this file do, and it appears to keep some old queued messages, but I'm not sure if the information is correct.

As stated here it's safe to delete the file, with the following algorithm:

1. Run “Get-Queue” and take a look at the count of messages in HUB01
2. Goto services.msc and Pause the Microsoft Exchange Transport service
3. Again, run “Get-Queue” and ensure all pending messages are “zeroed” out
4. Once messages pending becomes zero, stop the Transport service
5. Move the mail.que file and all others to a new folder in the same location
6. Start the Transport service

I would like to know if this is really the right procedure, since the information on the link appears to apply for Exchange 2010.

Thanks in advance,

Best Answer

The procedure also applies to Exchange 2013. just in case here is also the link for Exchange 2013: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb125177%28v=exchg.150%29.aspx In this article it is also explained on how to move the mail.que fail to an alternate location.