Remove move request fails in Exchange Server

Migration to another mailbox database finished a couple of weeks ago. We like to remove the move request. When running the cmdlet to remove the move request, it fails. We are unable to clear move requests in Exchange Server. In this article, you will learn why this is happening, and the solution for remove move request fails in Exchange Server.

Remove move request statistics

We did move mailboxes to another mailbox database. Now we like to remove the move request to keep it clean. Run Exchange Management Shell as administrator. Run the cmdlet to remove the move request.

[PS] C:\>Get-MoveRequest -ResultSize Unlimited | Remove-MoveRequest -Confirm:$false

In the next step, we will verify that we did remove the move request.

Read more: Remove completed move requests Exchange »

Get move request statistics

Run the Get-MoveRequestStatics cmdlet. In our example, we like to get the move statistics of mailbox database DB02. The output should be empty because we did remove the move request in the previous step.

[PS] C:\>Get-MoveRequestStatistics -MoveRequestQueue "DB02"

After running the above cmdlet, the output is not empty. It’s showing us the following warnings:

• WARNING: The move request for user is invalid: The Active Directory user isn’t being moved.
• WARNING: The move request for user is invalid: Couldn’t find user in Active Directory.

WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Company/Exchange/Resources/Room Tokyo' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Company/Users/IT/Max Fraser' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Company/Users/IT/Mohammad Rashid' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Users/SystemMailbox{2CE34405-31BE-455D-89D7-A7C7DA7A0DAA}' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Users/SystemMailbox{D0E409A0-AF9B-4720-92FE-AAC869B0D201}' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Company/Users/IT/Boris Campbell' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Users/SystemMailbox{1f05a927-818f-4eba-8556-a1e4b042da46}' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
DisplayName                           StatusDetail TotalMailboxSize               TotalArchiveSize PercentComplete
-----------                           ------------ ----------------               ---------------- ---------------
Room Tokyo                            Completed    397.9 KB (407,415 bytes)                        100
Max Fraser                            Completed    53.44 KB (54,722 bytes)                         100
Mohammad Rashid                       Completed    54.45 KB (55,755 bytes)                         100
Microsoft Exchange                    Completed    56.49 KB (57,846 bytes)                         100
E4E Encryption Store - Active         Completed    55.09 KB (56,413 bytes)                         100
Boris Campbell                        Completed    3.774 GB (4,051,795,831 bytes)                  100
Microsoft Exchange Approval Assistant Completed    58.83 KB (60,238 bytes)                         100
Microsoft Exchange                    Completed    94.74 KB (97,018 bytes)                         100
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Users/SystemMailbox{bb558c35-97f1-4cb9-8ff7-d53741dc928c}' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
Discovery Search Mailbox              Completed    435.6 KB (446,077 bytes)                        100
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Users/DiscoverySearchMailbox {D919BA05-46A6-415f-80AD-7E09334BB852}' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
Jonathan  Fisher                      Completed    2.838 GB (3,047,518,309 bytes)                  100
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Company/Users/IT/Jonathan Fisher' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
Zoë Rees                              Completed    3.427 GB (3,679,310,422 bytes)                  100
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Company/Users/IT/Zoë Rees' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
Microsoft Exchange Approval Assistant Completed    309.2 KB (316,653 bytes)                        100
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Users/Migration.8f3e7716-2011-43e4-96b1-aba62d229136' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
Microsoft Exchange                    Completed    833.9 KB (853,939 bytes)                        100
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Users/SystemMailbox{e0dc1c29-89c3-4034-b678-e6c29d823ed9}' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
Microsoft Exchange Federation Mailbox Completed    50.39 KB (51,595 bytes)                         100
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Users/FederatedEmail.4c1f4d8b-8179-4148-93bf-00a95fa1e042' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..

Why are we getting this warning, and what is the solution for unable to clear move request in Exchange Server?

Keep reading: Check move request status Exchange »

Solution for cannot clear move request

The solution is to cancel move requests by using the -MailboxGuid parameter. But why did this occur in the first place? It happens if the users are recreated, deleted, or moved to another OU in AD before the move request is cleared.

That’s why it’s essential to clear the request after you move mailboxes to another database. If you wait and there are changes made to the users, the clear move request will fail with warnings.

In the next three steps, we will remove the move request that is failing:

1. Get move request
2. Show move request
3. Remove move request

Get move request that fails to delete

First, run the cmdlet to get the failing move requests.

[PS] C:\>$DBs = Get-MailboxDatabase; $MoveReqs = $DBs | % {Get-MoveRequestStatistics -MoveRequestQueue $_.Name -EA SilentlyContinue} | Select MailboxIdentity,ExchangeGuid,RequestQueue,StatusDetail
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Company/Exchange/Resources/Room Tokyo' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Company/Users/IT/Max Fraser' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Company/Users/IT/Mohammad Rashid' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Users/SystemMailbox{2CE34405-31BE-455D-89D7-A7C7DA7A0DAA}' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Users/SystemMailbox{D0E409A0-AF9B-4720-92FE-AAC869B0D201}' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Company/Users/IT/Boris Campbell' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Users/SystemMailbox{1f05a927-818f-4eba-8556-a1e4b042da46}' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Users/SystemMailbox{bb558c35-97f1-4cb9-8ff7-d53741dc928c}' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Users/DiscoverySearchMailbox {D919BA05-46A6-415f-80AD-7E09334BB852}' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Company/Users/IT/Jonathan Fisher' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Company/Users/IT/Zoë Rees' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Users/Migration.8f3e7716-2011-43e4-96b1-aba62d229136' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Users/SystemMailbox{e0dc1c29-89c3-4034-b678-e6c29d823ed9}' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..
WARNING: The move request for user 'exoip.local/Users/FederatedEmail.4c1f4d8b-8179-4148-93bf-00a95fa1e042' is invalid: The Active Directory user isn't being moved..

Show move request in table

List the move requests in a table for a better view.

[PS] C:\>$MoveReqs | Format-Table *

MailboxIdentity                                                                 ExchangeGuid                         RequestQueue StatusDetail
---------------                                                                 ------------                         ------------ ------------
exoip.local/Company/Exchange/Resources/Room Tokyo                               3a47bd24-13f8-435d-996b-8ed61f4e4c24 DB02            Completed
exoip.local/Company/Users/IT/Max Fraser                                         e6b97139-39e6-4775-ad95-46e2778e091c DB02            Completed
exoip.local/Company/Users/IT/Mohammad Rashid                                    9591833b-ef3a-405a-a4bc-9033fd991242 DB02            Completed
exoip.local/Users/SystemMailbox{2CE34405-31BE-455D-89D7-A7C7DA7A0DAA}           56e11645-578d-4edc-985a-44f270a818de DB02            Completed
exoip.local/Users/SystemMailbox{D0E409A0-AF9B-4720-92FE-AAC869B0D201}           3c051b46-782c-43ec-b284-f7444c7a6d12 DB02            Completed
exoip.local/Company/Users/IT/Boris Campbell                                     21925161-942e-4009-bc4e-b2ac298989f8 DB02            Completed
exoip.local/Users/SystemMailbox{1f05a927-818f-4eba-8556-a1e4b042da46}           5ed9817b-61d2-47e9-8338-071c5ee3de85 DB02            Completed
exoip.local/Users/SystemMailbox{bb558c35-97f1-4cb9-8ff7-d53741dc928c}           493e8d7f-0bc1-49c1-b320-06812c95ddc8 DB02            Completed
exoip.local/Users/DiscoverySearchMailbox {D919BA05-46A6-415f-80AD-7E09334BB852} 376c38a4-4282-48a2-8ecc-0a4c651efb41 DB02            Completed
exoip.local/Company/Users/IT/Jonathan Fisher                                    82faf7cb-b4b8-463b-afd7-bd3570af5edb DB02            Completed
exoip.local/Company/Users/IT/Zoë Rees                                           23c905d8-a0a0-4cd8-8d95-9dc11a6af1c4 DB02            Completed
exoip.local/Users/Migration.8f3e7716-2011-43e4-96b1-aba62d229136                05db6fdc-2e35-45bf-8bd1-7500e901e9ef DB02            Completed
exoip.local/Users/SystemMailbox{e0dc1c29-89c3-4034-b678-e6c29d823ed9}           215f0bef-ab87-4699-9f17-60aeccccf6f5 DB02            Completed
exoip.local/Users/FederatedEmail.4c1f4d8b-8179-4148-93bf-00a95fa1e042           cc05bbf2-0212-480d-b111-3dd07755b2fe DB02            Completed

Remove move request

Use the Remove-MoveRequest cmdlet and cancel the mailbox move by using the -MailboxGuid parameter. First, run the cmdlet with -WhatIf parameter. Nothing will happen in the environment, and it will tell us in the output what will happen.

Note: The MailboxGuid and MoveRequestQueue parameters are for debugging purposes only.

[PS] C:\>$MoveReqs | % {Remove-MoveRequest -MailboxGuid $_.ExchangeGuid -MoveRequestQueue $_.RequestQueue -EA SilentlyContinue -Confirm:$false -WhatIf}
What if: Removing move request "3a47bd24-13f8-435d-996b-8ed61f4e4c24".  Caution: This will forcibly remove this move request. Use this only as a last resort.
What if: Removing move request "e6b97139-39e6-4775-ad95-46e2778e091c".  Caution: This will forcibly remove this move request. Use this only as a last resort.
What if: Removing move request "9591833b-ef3a-405a-a4bc-9033fd991242".  Caution: This will forcibly remove this move request. Use this only as a last resort.
What if: Removing move request "56e11645-578d-4edc-985a-44f270a818de".  Caution: This will forcibly remove this move request. Use this only as a last resort.
What if: Removing move request "3c051b46-782c-43ec-b284-f7444c7a6d12".  Caution: This will forcibly remove this move request. Use this only as a last resort.
What if: Removing move request "21925161-942e-4009-bc4e-b2ac298989f8".  Caution: This will forcibly remove this move request. Use this only as a last resort.
What if: Removing move request "5ed9817b-61d2-47e9-8338-071c5ee3de85".  Caution: This will forcibly remove this move request. Use this only as a last resort.
What if: Removing move request "493e8d7f-0bc1-49c1-b320-06812c95ddc8".  Caution: This will forcibly remove this move request. Use this only as a last resort.
What if: Removing move request "376c38a4-4282-48a2-8ecc-0a4c651efb41".  Caution: This will forcibly remove this move request. Use this only as a last resort.
What if: Removing move request "82faf7cb-b4b8-463b-afd7-bd3570af5edb".  Caution: This will forcibly remove this move request. Use this only as a last resort.
What if: Removing move request "23c905d8-a0a0-4cd8-8d95-9dc11a6af1c4".  Caution: This will forcibly remove this move request. Use this only as a last resort.
What if: Removing move request "05db6fdc-2e35-45bf-8bd1-7500e901e9ef".  Caution: This will forcibly remove this move request. Use this only as a last resort.
What if: Removing move request "215f0bef-ab87-4699-9f17-60aeccccf6f5".  Caution: This will forcibly remove this move request. Use this only as a last resort.
What if: Removing move request "cc05bbf2-0212-480d-b111-3dd07755b2fe".  Caution: This will forcibly remove this move request. Use this only as a last resort.

Remove -WhatIf and run the cmdlet to remove the move requests permanently.

[PS] C:\>$MoveReqs | % {Remove-MoveRequest -MailboxGuid $_.ExchangeGuid -MoveRequestQueue $_.RequestQueue -EA SilentlyContinue -Confirm:$false}

Verify move request is cleared

Run the cmdlet, and it will show no output.

[PS] C:\>Get-MoveRequestStatistics -MoveRequestQueue "DB02"

That’s it. We did successfully remove the move request in Exchange Server.

Keep on reading: Move all mailboxes from one database to another »

Conclusion

In this article, you learned why the remove move request fails in Exchange Server. The solution is to list the move request mailboxes and cancel move request with the MailboxGuid parameter. The next time you move mailboxes, clear the move requests after completion and don’t wait too long.

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