OL2000: (CW) Troubleshooting Outlook Configuration Problems

ID: Q195795

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Outlook 2000
NOTE: These procedures only apply if you have installed Outlook with the Corporate or Workgroup option. This option allows you to use Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) services. To determine your installation type, on the Help Menu click About Microsoft Outlook. In About Microsoft Outlook you should see "Corporate or Workgroup" if you have the Corporate or Workgroup installation.

SUMMARY

This article describes how to troubleshoot common Microsoft Outlook 2000 configuration problems for Internet, Microsoft Mail, Exchange, MSFax, and Online services. You should begin your troubleshooting with the section titled, "General Configuration Troubleshooting," and then proceed to the section for your particular service type.

This article discusses the following topics:

Services

General Configuration Troubleshooting

Internet Configurations

  • Checking Your Internet Connection


  • Setting TCP/IP as Default Protocol


  • Other Internet Connection Issues


Microsoft Mail Configurations

  • Create a Test Postoffice


  • Other Microsoft Mail Issues


Exchange Server Configurations

Lotus Notes

Lotus cc:Mail

Installing Microsoft Fax


MORE INFORMATION

Transport Services

This list shows available Outlook services. Other transport services are untested and may not work properly with Outlook.
  • Internet E-mail


  • Microsoft Mail


  • Microsoft Exchange Server


  • Personal Address Book


  • Outlook Address Book


  • Personal Folders


  • Microsoft Fax (Windows 95/98 Setup)


  • Outlook Support for Lotus cc:Mail (installed with standard setup)


  • Lotus cc:Mail (Installed by Lotus cc:Mail client)


General Configuration Troubleshooting

Outlook creates a default profile called Microsoft Outlook. Most users will either add services to this profile or create a new profile with new services. The first troubleshooting step for configuration issues is to create a new profile that includes only the service with which you are having problems. When this is working, you can add additional services, checking each one.

NOTE: With respect to Mail services, you can only add one of each service into a single profile. That is, you can not add two CompuServe Mail services, or two MSN services into a single profile. You can, however add one Internet E-mail service, one MSN service, and one CompuServe Mail service into a single profile. The Internet E-mail service is an exception as it allows for multiple Internet Mail accounts.

Create a New Profile

To create a new profile from Control Panel, follow these steps:

  1. On the Start menu, point to Settings, and click Control Panel. Double-click the Mail And Fax icon. (The icon is a Mail icon if you did not install fax services.)


  2. On the Services tab, click Show Profiles to list your profiles.


  3. Click Add to open the Inbox Setup Wizard.


  4. Make sure that the default is set to "Use the following information services."


  5. Click to clear all services except the one you are troubleshooting. For troubleshooting purposes, add only one service at a time.


  6. Click Next. In the Profile Name box, type a name for the new profile.


  7. Follow the Inbox Setup Wizard prompts, answering the questions for your service until you finish.


Checking Your Internet Connection

To make sure your Internet connection is working properly, log on to your Internet connection and ping a known Internet Protocol (IP) address by typing the following command at an MS-DOS prompt: 


ping <IP address>
where <IP address> is the IP address of an Internet server.

If you can ping a known IP address successfully, basic TCP/IP connectivity is functioning properly. Next, try to ping the Internet server using "servername.com" instead of the IP address. At an MS-DOS prompt type the following command: 


ping servername.com
If this works, your Domain Name Server (DNS) settings are functioning properly.

A DNS maintains a database for resolving host names and IP addresses, allowing users of computers configured to query the DNS to specify remote computers by friendly host names rather than IP addresses. DNS domains are not the same as Windows NT networking domains.

For example, issuing the "ping ftp.microsoft.com" command goes to the DNS server you specified for your internet connection, looks up the IP address for the site, and then pings that IP address.

For additional information on connecting to the Internet, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q138789 How to Connect to the Internet in Windows 95

Setting TCP/IP as Default Protocol

Once you know that your Internet connection is working, you should check that TCP/IP is set as the default protocol. To make sure that TCP/IP is your default protocol, On the Windows desktop, right-click Network Neighborhood and then follow the steps below for the operating system you are using:

For Windows 95/98

  1. On the Configuration tab, click TCP/IP, and click Properties to open the TCP/IP Properties.


  2. Click the Advanced tab, click to select the "Set this protocol to be the default protocol" check box, and then click OK.


For Windows NT

  1. Click the Bindings tab.


  2. In the Show Binding For list, click All Services.


  3. Expand the list for all services and use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to position the TCP/IP protocol at the top of each list. Click OK.


NOTE:In each of the above series of steps, you should verify that all Internet configuration information is correct. If you are in doubt about any setting, contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Other Internet Connection Issues

  • Most Internet addresses and connection settings are case sensitive. Check for correct capitalization.


  • Make sure your profile does not include multiple services that require a modem connection. For example, Internet and fax services in the same profile may cause modem conflicts within Outlook.


  • Establish your Internet connection, and then start Outlook. If you receive an error trying to send or receive mail, confirm all of your Internet Mail settings with your Internet service provider. You may have entered a domain name server or news server address instead of the mail server.


  • Remote Mail configurations may cause unexpected results. If you configured a service for Remote Mail, you may lose connections, or mail may not be sent or received as expected.


For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q195720 OL2000: Undeliverable Mail Message When Sending Internet Mail

Create a Microsoft Mail Test Postoffice

When you troubleshoot Microsoft Mail problems, you must first determine if Outlook or the MSMail Postoffice is the cause. The easiest way to do this is to create a test Postoffice.

To create a test Postoffice, follow these steps:
  1. In Control Panel, double-click Microsoft Mail Post Office to open the Microsoft Workgroup Postoffice Admin Wizard.


  2. Click "Create a new Workgroup Postoffice."


  3. In the Postoffice Location box, type a location to c:\ or a local drive and click Next.

    NOTE: By default the Admin Wizard creates a folder called wgpo0000. This folder derives its name from Work Group Post Office.


  4. Confirm the location and click Next.


  5. Fill in the Administrator Account Information and click OK.


This completes the Postoffice creation. To add users, go to Control Panel, Microsoft Mail Postoffice, and click to select "Administer an Existing Post Office."

Create a new profile with Microsoft Mail service and point to the test Postoffice you just created. If this profile works, your original Postoffice is the problem. Check with the original Postoffice administrator to verify that the configuration information is correct.

Other Microsoft Mail Issues

  • Microsoft Mail connection information is case-sensitive. Check for correct capitalization.


  • Remote Mail configurations may cause unexpected results. If you configured a service for Remote Mail, you may lose connections or mail may not send or receive as expected.


For more information about Remote Mail, type "remote mail" in the Office Assistant, click Search, and then click to view "Use Remote Mail."

Exchange Server Configurations

The problem may be with Outlook or one of its associated files. You may have to remove and re-install Outlook using Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel.

If you suspect a server or profile issue, use the following steps to continue troubleshooting:

Server or Profile Troubleshooting

To troubleshoot server or profile problems, follow these steps:

  1. Resolve your mailbox name with the server by clicking the Check Names button in the properties sheet for Exchange Server.


  2. If possible, configure a profile without the Exchange Server and see if the problem persists.


  3. If possible, change the delivery location and see if the problem persists.

    NOTE: Before you change the delivery from a Mailbox location to a Personal Folder, make sure you move any existing mail messages from the Inbox folder.


Lotus Notes

Outlook does not support Lotus Notes services.

For more information about transitioning from Lotus Notes to Outlook, Click Microsoft Outlook Help on the Help menu, type "lotus notes" in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.

Lotus cc:Mail

Outlook provides Lotus cc:Mail service as part of the standard installation. Follow these steps to troubleshoot cc:Mail configuration problems:
  1. Start by mapping a drive to your cc:Mail folder and creating a new cc:Mail only profile.


  2. Outlook does not support the Lotus provided cc:Mail transport service; you must use the Microsoft provided cc:Mail transport service as installed with Outlook. If you suspect that the files are damaged run the Repair Office option in the setup program.


  3. Verify with your cc:Mail administrator that your cc:Mail service properties are correct. Use these steps to determine the cc:Mail post office settings:

    1. On the Outlook Tools menu, click Services to open the Services dialog box.


    2. Click Properties and check all settings under the Logon, Delivery, and Addressing tabs.




For more information about Lotus cc:Mail, Click Microsoft Outlook Help on the Help menu, type "use Lotus cc:Mail" in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.

Microsoft Fax

Microsoft Fax, also known as At Work Fax, is installed from the Windows 95 setup, in the Add/Remove Programs control panel. For Windows 98, locate the following file in the Windows 98 CD: 


<CDdrive>:\tools\oldwin95\message\us\awfax.exe
Double-click awfax.exe to install the fax and answer the setup wizard questions.

After you have installed Microsoft FAX, run the Fixmapi.exe utility to update the MAPI files otherwise when you start Outlook you will get prompted with the following error message:

MAPI32.DLL is corrupt or the wrong version. This could have been caused by installing other messaging software. To repair MAPI32.DLL, shutdown Outlook and run FIXMAPI.EXE from your system folder.
Click OK to this message and shut down Outlook.

To run the Fixmapi.exe utility, follow these steps:

  1. On the Start menu, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.


  2. Type Fixmapi.exe, click the Look In list and then click to select your the entire hard drive or drives. Click Find Now.


  3. In the items found window, double-click on Fixmapi.exe.


Add Microsoft fax to your mail profile.

For additional information about resolving MAPI conflicts with Outlook 2000, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q199823 OL2000: Startup Error Indicates Problem


REFERENCES

For more information about type "configuring services", Click Microsoft Outlook Help on the Help menu, type "configuring services" in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.

The third-party products discussed here are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.

Additional query words: tshoot OL2K

Keywords :
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto


Last Reviewed: October 12, 1999
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