XFOR: Dirsync Service Stops Unexpectedly, Event 181 in Event Log

ID: Q196892

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Exchange Server, version 5.5

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to start the Microsoft Exchange Directory Synchronization service, an access violation may occur, and the service may stop unexpectedly. No error messages are displayed, but the following event may appear in the event log one or more times:


   Event ID: 181

This problem occurs when the Microsoft Exchange Server computer is configured as a directory synchronization (dirsync) requestor, and the server and the Microsoft Mail for PC Networks postoffice are configured to transfer template information.

CAUSE

This problem can occur when the Exchange Server computer does not properly process the list of template prompts. The dirsync service assumes that the strings in the template prompts are zero-terminated, but they are not. This causes the service to sort the template prompts incorrectly.

In addition, this problem can occur if one or more of the template prompts contains a trailing slash mark (/). A slash mark is normally used to separate the template prompt from the template data. When the template prompt contains a trailing slash mark, a second slash mark is used to separate the template prompt from the template data. This may cause the dirsync service to determine that two template prompts are the same when they are not.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Exchange Server version 5.5. For more information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q191014 XGEN: How to Obtain the Latest Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

Component: Directory Synchronization (Dirsync)


   File Name   Version
   ----------------------
   Dxa.exe     5.5.2396.0

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5.

Additional query words: custom recipient attribute

Keywords : exc55sp2fix
Version : WinNT:5.5
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug