Exchange server is 'off line' 2

[DavidinDevon]

and my outlook 2007 client is saying that it is a terminal connection.

thing is that they are on the same net, it all used to work, all the exchange services are up and running, the server has been rebooted...

I've been through everything. It is probably a number of issues. Big question is, how do i get the exchange server back on line?

When monitoring the server it tells me that it is stopped but all the services are up. totally confused.

Help please!

 

[ShackDaddy]

Where do you read that the server is stopped? What does it say, exactly?

And where do you read "Offline"? In your Outlook client? Have you tried pulling down the menu in the bottom right corner of your Outlook client and uncheck the "Work Offline" checkbox? Sometimes it's as easy as that.

Are there more than one Outlook client on your LAN? And can any of the others connect?

ShackDaddy
Shackelford Consulting

 

[DavidinDevon]

Good points shack daddy.

When I look at the icon in the system tray - desktop end, the users pc - it shows an outlook icon with a red cross. If I rest the pointer on it, it tells me that "Microsoft Office Outlook is offline". Right clicking it doesn't give me an option to go online.

If I go to control panel / mail and work in that way, it won't resolve names and the error message I get refers to terminal server issue. But I don't have one. Physically they are on the same desk. The network is a simple, straight forward LAN affair over TCP/IP.

On the server, go to Exchange system manager and go to servers. Go to your server, right click and go to properties. Look at the monitoring tab and mine says that the derault microsoft Exchange services are in the critical state of 'stopped'. Double click that and all services are running. Why it's stopped, I don't know.

So there is no e-mail in or out - or internally, come to think of it.

Any other ideas?

 

[ShackDaddy]

The monitoring tab is for setting up alerts and defining what a Critical state is. By default, the critical state is defined as "Stopped". That tab will tell you little of use about the real functioning level of your server. Ignore anything referring to the MTA Stacks.

To find out how your information store is doing, expand Servername -> First Storage Group. If there ISN'T a red X on your Mailbox or Public Folder Store, then your stores are online.

From a client workstation, log into Outlook Web Access by using this URL:

https://servername/exchange

If you can successfully log in, chances are that the issue is not with your server.

I asked earlier, are there any other Outlook clients on your LAN? That would narrow this down even further.

ShackDaddy
Shackelford Consulting

 

[58sniper]

Try creating a new Outlook profile and see if that stays connected.

Pat Richard, MCSE MCSA:Messaging CNA
Microsoft Exchange MVP
Want to know how email works? Read for yourself -

http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2821.txt

 

[DavidinDevon]

Hi Shack daddy

OK. Ignoring the monitoring tabs, I've been to the first storage groups and there are no red X's - so that's all clear.

I've gone on your link with both users pc and from the server and that points to a page about SQL - was it supposed to? I don't run any SQL. Sorry, is it be being thick?

As for any other outlook clients on the LAN, well the answer is no. However, I have recently changed from Outlook 2003 to 2007. The first machine I did it on was my test bed for Vista but it was awful so it's all been taken off, the machine wiped and reloaded with XP Pro. This didn't happen at the same time as my exchange problems but it wouldn't surprise me if it had something to do with it. At the moment, there is one server and one PC on the LAN.

Thanks

David

 

[ShackDaddy]

That link I gave you: put your server's name in instead of "servername".

ShackDaddy
Shackelford Consulting

 

[DavidinDevon]

Hi Shack daddy-o

Well that works. got a warning message about security issues and then I logged into my exchange server. We used to do this until we moved offices ages ago.

Bit of background. I qualified with MS years ago and as the company got bigger, I had to employ someone else to take over the IT. Company gets smaller so I've got my old job back.

If I can connect in this way then it points to an issue with the router. Hhmmm...

In my inbox are some messages about the RESvc being stopped. On closer inspection, it looks like they come in blocks of 4 and the messages tell me that the following services are stopped. these are MSExchangeIS service is Stopped, MSExchangeSA service is Stopped, RESvc service is Stopped amd MSExchangeMGMT service is Stopped. These are happening every day.

Anything else I can tell you? We're getting there!

David

 

[DavidinDevon]

Just thought. There are no new messages since the 1st of March in my inbox. Nothing in any cues either.

David

 

[DavidinDevon]

So I've got this router. It is supplied by the telephone company (BT) here in the UK. Now it might be my imagination but it would appear that the Exchange server has been isolated. It all looks fine, operations wise but you can't connect to it locally and it can't get out to recieve mail. I can connect to it in a VPN sort of fashion which tells me that it is up and working but this is the only way to connect to it - by tricking the router/modem.

It is called a 2Wire and is standard issue with BT.

Carry on!

David

 

[DavidinDevon]

Now that's odd.

58sniper might be onto something here. Sat twiddling my thumbs I decided to bring in a new user. Bob Todger his name - friend of the wife's.

Anyway, new user, new mail account, new login. Open up outlook and it goes straight into Exchange. Name gets resolved and Exchange is online.

So much for my firewall theory as it now points to my old user profiles. I say old as they have migrated from Outlook 2003 to 2007.

Any ideas?

David

 

[ShackDaddy]

Try creating a new profile for your own account. That means closing Outlook and opening the Mail control panel. Choose Profiles and New. Set it up fresh and see if your username will resolve. This may completely resolve the issue, and you should then abandon the old profile and use the new one.

The other possibility is that your mailbox got deleted somehow. On the server, under Mail Store, you should also see a folder called Mailboxes. Click on that, and it will list the mailboxes that exist on the server. Make sure yours is there. Another way to do that is to check the tabs on your user accounts properties and make sure that the Email Addresses tab exists. If it doesn't, I don't think you have a mailbox.

If you don't have a mailbox, you can find your user account in the Active Directory Users and Computers tool, right click it and choose Exchange Tasks.

In general, you should be using the basic SBS wizards to do as many tasks as possible, rather than using the ADUC and other tools. That goes for account and group creation and for network/RAS setup in particular.

ShackDaddy
Shackelford Consulting

 

[DavidinDevon]

Well that all works so far. We've got rid of Broadband and have just had satellite installed. So i've got another range of problems.

I resolved the 'check names' issue by using the IP address of the server. Surprisingly, it went straight in. That was enough for that day!

I deleted my profile and created a new one. Moved my data across and checked it all with the IP of the server. Brilliant. So I think it all works.

But now I've got another issue in that the Exchange services are refusing to start. Could be something with the Sat box being the DHCP server so I've had to disable the service on the server. Now it takes ages to boot and even though I've done properties/log on/interact with the desktop, the services still won't start. Error 1053 os what I am being told.

does this deserve a new thread? My original issue seems to have been resolved - thanks to everyone who helped.

If you see this issue again - don't use the server name - use the IP address!

Stay here of new thread? Comments please!

David

 

[ShackDaddy]

You'll get more feedback if you start a new thread.

ShackDaddy
Shackelford Consulting