move Exchange 2010 Catalog Data

Error description:

The Catalog data folder stays in place after a database move path action. The folder couldn't be cleaned up because it is in use by the Microsoft Exchange Search Indexing service

Solution:

First we have to temporarely disable the indexing on the particular mailbox database. Then we stop the indexing service of Exchange so we can delete the remaining files.

Actions:

Sometimes you have to move / clean the catalog data:
for example when you've moved the database path to another location. The catalog data location won't change automatically.What you can do in this situation is move the files over to the new database location or clean them ( in case the database has just been created ).
Follow the next steps:

• Open up Exchange Powershell and run the following CMD:

Set-MailboxDatabase ".........." -IndexEnabled $false

• Before moving / cleaning the catalog files, stop the Microsoft Exchange Indexing service
• Move the catalog files to the new database location or clean them up.
• Start the Microsoft Exchange Indexing service

Set-MailboxDatabase ".........." -IndexEnabled $true