This error in the Exchange System Manager is a generic MAPI error code, but not necessarily a MAPI error.

Unfortunately there is no clear cut cause to this error, but performing the following steps should fix the problem.

1. Check the version number of w3svc.dll on your Exchange 2000 Server. It should be 5.0.2195.1600. A higher version of this dll was used in a post Windows 2000 SP1 hot fix, but broke PF in Exchange Manager. The easiest solution is to copy the w3svc.dll file from the Windows 2000 SP1 CD.
2. You may also try the following:
   Open IIS Admin Manager, Expand “Default Website” or whichever website Exadmin is under. Right-click and select properties of Exadmin. Go to the Directory Security Tab. Click Edit under “Anonymous Access and Authentication Control.” Check “Integrated Windows Authentication.”
3. Also check to see if the Exadmin directory is set to use only SSL. This has been known to cause the error as well.

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Creating an SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record helps prevent other servers from spoofing your email address and also helps other servers determine whether or not your messages are spam. However, without widespread use of SPF at the moment, the latter isn’t very effective.

SPF Records use reverse DNS to check if a sending email address is valid. For example, if you see an email from info@iishacks.com it may or may not be from me. A server will perform a reverse DNS check for iishacks.com to see if the sending machine is authorized to send that message. If the SPF Record is on my server and I authorize only my server to send messages from IISHacks, then only messages sent from info@iishacks.com from my server will show up as valid.

More and more email servers are using SPF records as a way to sort and rank possible spam. If a sending server does not have an SPF record or is not an authorized sender of a server with an SPF record, some email servers will flag that message as spam or else reject it completely. Large email hosting companies are already incorporating SPF as a spam tool.

If you host your own email server but your DNS/MX records are hosted somewhere else (ex. Godaddy) you can login to their administrative panel and follow their steps to create and publish an SPF record. If you host your own DNS you can follow the steps at openspf.org to create a valid SPF record and then follow the steps below to implement it into your Windows server.


Go to Start –> Programs –> Administrative Tools –> DNS


Expand the DNS tree, under Forward Lookup Zones select the domain you wish to create an SPF record for. In the white space, Right-Click and select Other New Records…

Select Text (TXT) in the Resource Record Type dialog box, click Create Record…

Type in the SPF record data in the Text: area, click OK. Reference the openspf.org wizard to create the SPF data.

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‘Microsoft Exchange Server’ reported error (0x8004010F) is received when trying to send and receive email on Outlook 2000/2003 with Exchange Server 2003. It occurs when Outlook hasn’t synchronized the offline address book properly, or it has been corrupted or missing.

If the OAB is missing, the server might be pointed to the wrong location of the address book.

1. Open Exchange Manager
2. Double-click Servers
3. Double-click on Server Name
4. Double-click on Storage Group (Ex. First Storage)
5. Right-click on it and select “Properties”
6. Make sure there is a server listed in the box. If not, browse to it.

If the Offline Address Book (OAB) is corrupted, you must rebuild it.

1. Open Exchange Manager
2. Double-click Recipients Folder
3. Double-click Offline Address List
4. Right-click on it and select “Rebuild”

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‘Microsoft Exchange Server’ reported error (0x8004011D): ‘The server is not available. Contact your administrator if this condition persists.’

This is a familiar error for many people. In my experience of diagnosing and fixing exchange issues, 9 / 10 times there has been an information store being dismounted due to an underlying service crashing.

Let’s go through a few basic steps to narrow it down:

1. Check to see that all MSExchange Services are started. (MSExchangeES, MSExchangeIS, MSExchangeMTA, MSExchangeSA)
2. If any of these are not started, start them!
   net start MSExchangeES /yes
   net start MSExchangeIS /yes
   net start MSExchangeMTA /yes
   net start MSExchangeSA /yes
3. Check to see if the Information Stores are mounted. Exchange Manager -> Servers -> Server Name -> First Storage Group -> Right-click on Mailbox Store and select “Mount Store” if dismounted.
4. Perform a database check.
   C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr>bin\eseutil /mh mdbdata\priv1.edb
5. Sometimes the error code will be thrown when a database is “dirty.” Doing the above check reveals what state the database is in, if you see State: Dirty Shutdown, then you must make sure all transaction logs from the checkpoint and later are present, then mount the store. If the logs are gone, you have to repair the database using Eseutil /p to make the database consistent to start. This can result in data loss, so back up everything beforehand just in case. After running Eseutil /p, run Eseutil /d to defrag the database. Then run the Information Store integrity checker Isinteg.exe -fix. Running these commands should fix any problems associated with a dirty database, and allow the stores to be mounted again. Please do make sure you have 1.5 – 2 times the database file size in free space on the drive for the system to work.

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Exchange server runs atop Active Directory on Windows. If underlying services are performing poorly, exchange server performance will suffer also.

Assigning a Specific Global Catalog Server to Exchange

Every time Active Directory needs to access the Global Address List (GAL) it queries the Global Catalog Server through LDAP. The default Global Catalog Server is the first domain controller deployed in the AD forest. The GCS holds all forest operations. If the GCS has other roles or services on it, it can get overloaded easily.

You can designate one or more domain controllers to act as Global Catalog Servers. Once you have done this, you can have Exchange use a specific GCS. If that server ever fails or is unreachable, it will use one of the other GCS’ available.

1. Go to Active Directory Sites and Services Console -> Sites -> Default First Site Name -> Servers -> Server of choice -> NTDS Settings -> Right-Click and select Properties.

2. Go to the General Tab and Select the Global Catalog checkbox. Click OK.

3. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\
   MSExchangeDSAccess\Profiles\Default\UserDC1 on the Exchange Server. If it is not there, create it.

4. Create a REG_SZ value named HostName. Type in the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the global catalog server you wish to use.

5. Create a REG_DWORD value named IsGC. Assign a value of 0x1.

6. Create a REG_DWORD key named PortNumber. Assign a value of 0xCC4 or 0xCC5 for SSL. This is the LDAP port for accessing the GCS.

7. Relax and watch your Exchange Server run faster and more efficiently.

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