PC DB: Ownerless Files on Novell Networks

• Microsoft Mail for PC Networks versions 2.1, 3.0, 3.0b, and 3.2

SYMPTOMS

Versions 2.1, 3.0, 3.0b, and 3.2 of Microsoft Mail for PC Networks running on a Novell file server may exhibit strange behavior when files in the mail system database become ownerless.

Several common indicators of ownerless files in the database are:

• File I/O: Short Write (displayed in the external's SESSION.LOG file)
• Notice 58: Postoffice Address List already has an alias with this name.
• Error Mailing To MailBag

CAUSE

Files become ownerless on Novell networks when the owner of the file is deleted from the bindery. When a file becomes ownerless, it can grow only to the next multiple of its block size. The default block size is 4k.

RESOLUTION

You can find ownerless files by using the Novell NDIR command, and assign owners to them by using the Novell FILER utility.

It is not a good idea to allow any mail system database files to be ownerless, but ownerless ACCESS.GLB, ACCESS2.GLB, and ACCESS3.GLB files can seriously undermine the integrity of the database when new users are added to a .GLB file with no deleted records.

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q99725
   TITLE     : PC DB: Checking for Ownerless Files in NetWare