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Using Bin2PST


BIN2PST is a command-line utility that is installed with Exclaimer Mail Archiver (version 3.04 and above). It allows you to:

  • Export an entire store to one or more PST files.
  • Export a single day's email to one or more PST files.
A BIN files is a compressed, de-duplicated proprietary file format which is used by Exclaimer Mail Archiver to store your email data. PST files are a Microsoft standard file format, used to store email data that can be used by Microsoft Outlook and many third-party applications.


System Requirements

If required, BIN2PST can be run on a computer other than the computer where Exclaimer Mail Archiver is installed. This is documented here.

BIN2PST requires a MAPI client to be installed on the computer where it is run (this is used to create the output PST files). The following MAPI clients are supported for use with BIN2PST:

  • Microsoft Outlook 2007 x86
  • Microsoft Outlook 2010 x86 and x64
  • Microsoft Outlook 2013 x86 and x64
  • Microsoft Outlook 2016 x86
NOTE: Microsoft Exchange MAPI CDO is not supported for use with BIN2PST, as it does not support the creation of Unicode PST files.


Technical Details

Exclaimer Mail Archiver stores your email data using a folder hierarchy, split by year and then month.
Within each 'month' folder, there are BIN files which contain your email data. A new BIN file is created for each 2GB of stored email, each day (this size can be increased by changing a Windows Registry setting). BIN filenames are comprised of two parts:


  1. A 2-digit day number (e.g. '03' for the third day of the month)
  2. A 3-digit number, incremented for each 2GB of stored email (e.g. '000' for the first 2GB of email stored)
For example:

The first 2GB of email stored on April 14th 2012 would be stored in the following place: 


\\2012\04\14000.BIN

NOTE: If you have less than 2GB email stored per day, you will only see one BIN file for each day.


Usage

BIN2PST can be found in the following locations on the computer where Exclaimer Mail Archiver is installed:



  • When using a 32-bit MAPI client, use the 32-bit BIN2PST found in:

    \Program Files (x86)\Exclaimer Ltd\Mail Archiver
  • When using a 64-bit MAPI client, use the 64-bit BIN2PST found in:

    \Program Files\Exclaimer Ltd\Mail Archiver
BIN2PST accepts the following command-line arguments in the order given below:



  1. Store Name. This can be any one of the following:
    • The name of the Store as shown in the Mail Archiver console (e.g. Live Email Archive). Use this if you wish to convert an entire store, and you have access to the Exclaimer Mail Archiver console.
    • The full path to the Store (e.g. E:\Stores\Live Email Archive). Use this if you wish to convert an entire store, but you do not have access to the Exclaimer Mail Archiver console.
    • The full path to a single BIN file (e.g. E:\Stores\Live Email Archive\2012\04\14000.BIN). Use this if you wish to convert email for a single day.
  2. Output folder. This is the folder where output PST files are created. PST files are named with the Exclaimer Mail Archiver store name, followed by a five-digit, incrementing number for each one.
  3. Maximum PST size. This is an optional parameter which allows you to specify how large each PST file should be, before a new one is created. If you do not specify this parameter, the default maximum value of 20GB is used. Keep in mind that BIN2PST only converts a single BIN into a single PST - it does not combine BIN files. So, if Mail Archiver and BIN2PST are using default settings, the PST files will be no larger than 2GB (and may well be smaller). When the store is placed into PST files, the performance optimizations performed by Exclaimer Mail Archiver will be lost, therefore you can expect the output PST files to be larger than the original store. NOTE: This value cannot be larger than 20GB, as per http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982577.

  4. /passive. If this argument is given, no user interaction is required. If any errors are encountered you are not asked whether to Abort/Retry/Ignore the error however, the error is output to the command window.

Examples

To convert one BIN file, use the following command format: 


bin2pst.exe C:\current\store\location\2016\10\10000.BIN D:\output\folder\location\

To convert a store, use the following command format:


bin2pst.exe C:\current\store\location\ D:\output\folder\

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