PC NTMMTA: DrivesWAN Fails to Work

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Mail Multitasking MTA for Windows NT, version 3.5

SYMPTOMS

Even after you correctly set up an instance of the Windows NT Multitasking MTA (NT MMTA) with the Use WAN Drives option in the Microsoft Mail Service Manager, you may notice that the instance of the External Mail program is sending mail both ways when it should to be sending it just one way.

The Use WAN Drives option does not work correctly when you run the NT MMTA as a service. The DrivesWAN drive letters are assigned according to the next contiguous mappable drives regardless of whether or not they are actually available drive letters.

For example, if you work on a machine that has A:, C:, and D:, and you use the DrivesWAN as a service, the following entries will appear in the SESSION.LOG:

   HomePO = B
   DrivesDynamic = EF
   DrivesWAN = CD

CAUSE

The XTSRV32.EXE component calculates DrivesWAN letters by selecting the next two sequential drive letters starting from the home postoffice (PO) drive assignment.

This will result in DrivesWAN using invalid drive letters under the following conditions:

1. The NT MMTA has only one floppy drive, and it selects drive B: as the home PO drive assignment

2. The first available drive letter that is selected for the home PO does not have the next two sequential letters available.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in version 3.5 of Microsoft Mail Multitasking MTA for Windows NT. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

The updated NTMMTA (version 3.5.27) when applied it improves this problem. If the computer does not have a B:\ drive, the NTMMTA well still select B:\ as the first drive; however, the mail transfer will be done properly.

The version 3.5.27 NTMMTA is available to you on the BBS at either (972) 518-0393 or (972) 550-0226 with the proper password that you get from a Microsoft Mail Support Engineer.