OL97: Troubleshooting Outlook Configuration Problems

ID: Q161973

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Outlook 97

SUMMARY

This article describes how to troubleshoot common Outlook 97 configuration problems for Internet, Microsoft Mail, Microsoft Exchange, 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.


MORE INFORMATION

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


  • OnLine Service
    • The Microsoft Network




Services

This chart shows available Outlook services and the location for each. Other transport services are untested and may not work properly with Outlook. 

 Service                   Location
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Internet                  Typical Setup
 Microsoft Mail            Typical Setup
 Exchange Server           Custom Setup or 2nd Dialog of Typical Setup
 Personal Address Book     Typical Setup
 Outlook Address Book      Typical Setup
 Personal Folders          Typical Setup
 Microsoft Fax             Windows 95 Setup
 Outlook Support for
   Lotus cc:Mail           Valupack for Office 97
 Lotus cc:Mail             Installed by Lotus cc:Mail client
 Microsoft Network (MSN)   Provided with MSN Setup
                           NOTE: If you upgrade to version 2.5 and a POP3
                           mailbox, the MSN transport service is not
                           required. Use the Internet service instead.
NOTE: America Online (AOL) uses a proprietary protocol to communicate between the user and the AOL service. Although Microsoft has offered to help develop the software necessary to provide AOL connectivity with Outlook, AOL has indicated that it doesn't fit the AOL business plans for their users to use non-AOL software to connect to their service, and that they have not received enough feedback from their customers wanting this capability to justify providing it to their customers. If you would like to see this feature made available by AOL, please provide that feedback via their Web site at:

http://www.aol.com/info/feedback.html

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 Internet Mail services, or two MSN services into a single profile. You can, however, add one Internet Mail serviceand one MSN service into a single profile.

You can create a new profile from the Mail And Fax icon in Control Panel or from the Inbox property page. Under some system configurations, the Inbox property is not available, so you must use Control Panel.

To create a new profile from Control Panel, follow these steps:
  1. In Windows Control Panel, double-click the Mail And Fax icon. (The icon is a Mail icon if you did not install fax services.)


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


  3. Click Add to open the Inbox Setup Wizard.


  4. Check 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 and 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.


Follow these steps to create a new profile from the Inbox:
  1. With the right mouse button, click the Inbox icon on the Windows Desktop to open the Inbox Properties.


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


  3. Click Add to open the Inbox Setup Wizard.


  4. Check 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 and 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.


Internet Configurations

To troubleshoot Internet configurations, you must first establish that the Internet connection is working properly.

Checking Your Internet Connection

To make sure your Internet connection is working properly, establish 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 a known IP address.

If you can ping a known IP address successfully, basic TCP/IP connectivity is functioning properly. Next, try to ping the same server using "servername.com" instead of its 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 server 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 yahoo.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 more detailed information on connecting to the Internet see the following articles 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 valid, you should check that TCP/IP is set as the default protocol. Follow these steps to make sure that TCP/IP is your default protocol:
  1. On the Windows Desktop, use your right mouse button to click Network Neighborhood.


  2. Click properties to open the Network Properties.

    For Windows 95:
    1. Under the Configuration tab, click TCP/IP and click Properties to open the TCP/IP Properties.


    2. Click the Advanced tab, verify that the "Set this protocol to be the default protocol" check box is selected, 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.


    NOTE: While you are in the TCP/IP Properties, you should verify that all Internet configuration information is correct. If you are in doubt about any setting, contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP).


  3. Click OK.


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, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q161323 OL97: Undeliverable Mail Message When Sending Internet Mail

Microsoft Mail Configurations

Create a Test Postoffice

When troubleshooting 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.


  6. This should complete the Postoffice creation. To add users, go back 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, then 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

Outlook ships with an Exchange client. You can use this program to determine if your configuration problem is unique to Outlook. If the problem persists under the Exchange client, you may have a server or profile issue.

Locate the Exchng32.exe file in the \Program Files folder. The exact location will vary depending on the operating system. By default, Exchng32.exe is either in the Microsoft Exchange or the Windows Messaging subfolder. The file size is 83,776 bytes with a date of 11/17/96. Start Exchng32.exe with the same profile as you used with Outlook.

If your problem does not persist with the Exchange client, the problem may be with Outlook or one of its associated files. You may have to remove and re-install Outlook using the Add/Remove Programs icon in Control Panel.

If the problem continues with Exchng32.exe, you should suspect a server or profile issue and use the following steps to continue troubleshooting:
  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, type lotus notes in the Office Assistant, click Search, and then click to view "If you use Lotus Notes 4.0."

Lotus cc:Mail

Outlook provides Lotus cc:Mail service as part of the ValuPack on the distribution compact disc for Office 97. 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. Re-install cc:Mail from the ValuPack. Outlook does not support the Lotus provided cc:Mail transport service; you must use the Microsoft provided cc:Mail transport service from the ValuPack.

    NOTE: If you use Windows NT Workstation 3.51 or Windows NT Workstation 4.0, before adding the cc:Mail information service to your profile, you need to install the 32-bit version of Vendor Independent Messaging (VIM), available from Lotus support at IBM Corporation.


For more information about installing the Lotus cc:Mail service, double-click to open the file Valupk8.hlp in the Microsoft Office 97 ValuPack. Under the topic "What do you want to know about?", click "Lotus cc:Mail information service."
  1. Verify with your cc:Mail administrator that your cc:Mail service properties are correct:
    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, as applicable.




For more information about Lotus cc:Mail, type cc:Mail in the Office Assistant, click Search, and then click to view "If you use Lotus cc:Mail."

OnLine Services

Before you begin troubleshooting, make sure you can establish a valid connection to the service. If your connection fails, you should contact the service provider.

The Microsoft Network

When troubleshooting MSN configuration issues, make sure that your MSN connection functions properly, without running Outlook. If you cannot connect to MSN, contact MSN support. Outlook setup assumes you have installed MSN and that your MSN connection works.

For additional information about using Outlook with MSN, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q175880 OL97: How to Configure Outlook 97 for Use with MSN 2.5


REFERENCES

For more information about profiles and services, type configuring services in the Office Assistant, click Search, and then click to view "About user profiles and information services."

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

Keywords : CfgProfl
Version : WINDOWS:97
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto


Last Reviewed: October 28, 1999
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