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Emails disappear from user's Outlook and I think from the Imap

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conrail

Technical User
Sep 30, 2002
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MS 5.5 exchange sp3. Users are losing emails without deleting they just disappear. Sometimes right away but mostly after 5 or 10 minutes. Could it be hard drive space? Any Ideas? Thanks
 
That's a pretty wierd one. Unles someone has seen the same thing you will probably have to post more specifics.

All (or many) users or isolated few?

Regular Outlook clients (where their mail should be staying
on the server) or something else where mail is downloaded.


 
It sounds like there is a POP3 client configured against this mailbox - maybe a laptop? Or Outlook Express on the same PC? Do the messages stay in the mailbox when the client isn't powered up?
 
Email doesn't just "disappear" from Exchnage. Exchange is an extremely "structured" environment in which database checks ensure transactions are correct.
Three things come to mind. One is as suggested, a client is "pulling" them from the server and deleting them. The other is that a user has inadvertantly setup rules on his Outlook client. Such rules can delete or move emails without you knowing. Believe me I have had users swear blind they never created a rule but there it was. The other thing is Archiving. Oh and PDA's can download and synchronise and I have seen them truncate email entries and sync. back again.
Good luck.
 
Yes something about my first reading made me assume it was just an email here and there which would be strange.

If there are all going away I would almost guarantee that the user set up pop3 (Outlook Express) access from a home system (probably left on with cable access to the internet).

Next thing you will hear is that it is your problem because they can see them fine from home.........
 
You have an interesting scenerio. If you recently upgraded to Ofc XP or 2003, AND IF the users are responsible for setting their own clients up without helpdesk support, they may have unknowingly "created" datafiles (PST) for the primary mail delivery location. The outlook client pulls down the mail and quickly deposits it in their PST on local drive. And where is that hidden PST?! Don't you love Bill Gates for changing the location of important tools! Tools, Services has been changed to Tools, E-mail Accounts and the management of PST files has been split out and moved to File, Data File Management. You have to smile...
 
Yes, I need to give more specifics. No upgrades here (though I will put that into another thread) I have just exchange 5.5 with nt4 sp6 platform. I have no POP client setup as I set them all up for IMAP.

A lot of great thinking going on thank you!

I am not very good with MS 5.5 but I can do the basics and then some. I get frustrated when I have my superior come to me and say I have emails disappearing and viruses are coming through. [ We will save the virus thing for later, I have that under control for now.] But when two officers get certain mail from the same recipient they disappear.

An email will come say 3 or 4 at a time from the same address. Not the same mail but different respondents from the same address and just one of the emails will drop off. Nowhere to be found. For another user, he has to wait for a specific time when he knows the mail will come and the he has to move it quickly to his local folder so he doesn't lose it.

Is there any activity on the server that I can specifically look for or where the email might be if I know the address. Also where do I find a list of what the error or notification numbers mean in the event log.

Thanks
 
I've had a couple of user problems before where a couple of users complained their email was disappearing, were on seperate occasions - but somehow Filtering had been switched on Outlook to only show 7 days messages, so when the user logged in emails were disappearing before their eyes.

Spent about 2 hours looking into this one!!....doh!
 
If it delivering to a pst file it would either never be seen in the mailbox or would still be seen as the user would be looking at the pst file. It doesn't go through the mailbox then to the pst.

This almost sound as if they were coming from internal users who had the ability to retract sent mails. Are you sure that isn't what is happening?
 
Gotta say it sounds like an Inbox rule still. What you are describing is exactly what would happen. They arrive, then get checked and despatched based upon the rule. The fact that Exchange is delivering it means Exchange is ok.
 
I dunno, possible. But with my rules I'd never even be able catch one unless I was just opening my mail. 5 to 10 minutes would never happen.


 
It could be that you are using Outlook/Exchange in Work Offline Mode...

This way you will not see any unsynced information or Public folders...

 
Thanks for all the replies! I am going to clean out some mailboxes and then check client rules settings.

I really appreciate this site it makes me think of obvious and difficult resolutions.

I am going to backup. Is it the straight forward backup that I can perform to another hard drive local or remote. I will be backing up with DLT as well.

It looks as though I may have the luxury of upgrading my exchange to 2003 unless there is something I am not aware of that I should stay with 5.5. I will be a couple of weeks before I take on the task. I will be looking for you all if I get stuck.

How do you check an individuals email contents on the server. Or it has to be accessed by client.

Just thinking outloud. I will have to look at some other threads for upgrade. I am sure there are many threads assosiated.
 
I feel your pain, conrail. I've had similar problems occur with our Outlook.

1) Days ago one worker received and read an external email. According to her, after reading she simply closed the email, but yesterday when she checked her Inbox is was not there. Again, she said she didn't delete the email, however we had to use the Recover Deleted Items function to find and retrieve the email. It's as if the email deleted itself twice.

2) Another worker has been sending various emails to her manager (internally). For some reason some of these emails end up in that manager's Deleted Items folder or - like with example #1 - completely deleted necessitating the use of the Recover Deleted Items function here as well. In one case, the email message is completely missing and can't be found or recovered.

I'm trying to figure what could suddenly cause these things to happen? We are using Exchange 5.5 over NT 4.0.
 
User error of one kind or another. I'm sticking with Trackhappy on this one. Individual Emails don't just disappear.
 
If someone is getting mail delivered and then dissappearing, this could be a situation where the delivery location has been changed.

Go to Tools - Email Accounts - Next - Look where the "Deliver New Email to the Following Location" indicates. If it says Personal Folders, then you know why they are disappearing and you know where they are and can be retrieved.

This touches on some other comments and questions I saw earlier. Email having to be restored from the recover deleted mail section is a whole nother story.
 
Still trying to figure this out. The rules are fine and it usually disappears after highlighting it or openining it or just after opening it. The external email will caome from the same location. Some will stay others disappear.

Delivery location changed? If these "hidden" emails are in PST do I import to recover? Shouldn't new mail be going to personal folders? Or is that what the problem is because I am using IMAP? Thinking
 
Nine to ten odds it is an Outlook Client issue as most people have stated in here. Filters, AutoArchive, Rules, and yes those damnable PST files have been moved again if your using XP or 2003. Also if you use 2003 and someone marks an email important or flags for follow up they get moved into another folder. Which is cool in some ways but confusing to users and absolutely dumbfounding for any officer or manager.

(has come to the conclusion that 90% of officers and managers are useless and annoying, 5% are functional but get in the way , 3% are good at what they do and 2% are great). Tragically I have yet to meet the later of the percentile.
 
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