Free/busy No Information

[KC]

So it looks like there are a lot of posts on the subject, several very close
to my issue, however there does not appear to be a solution posted on what
was done to correct the issue or if the issue "just went away"

Here is my issue:
To my knowledge this issue is limited to a single user that is using XP SP2
with Outlook 2003 in cached mode AND connecting via RPC over HTTP. When this
person attempts to schedule a meeting with multiple attendees he is unable to
see the other's Free/busy and instead sees "No Information".
I have verified that not only can I see the the Free/busy information for
the people he is trying to invite from my Outlook client, but I can also see
his Free/busy info.
I have confirmed that this is not just an OUtlook client issue on his end.
We have a Citrix server with Outlook as a published application. The Citirx
server and Exchange 2003 server (we are running Exchange) are local to each
other. This user is unable to see the same users Free/busy information on
Citrix when trying to schedule a meeting via the Outlook published Citirx
application.
I have not yet tried OWA, but would expect the same results.

Of course I have also tried random Outlook clients to make sure that me
having Exchange admin rights was not circumventing the issue.

The only post that may have a fix was the one where there was an Anonymous
permission set on his calendar. Seems unlikely but possible, and I have not
yet had an opportunity to contact this user to verify that an anonymous user
exists.

Another item that is confusing to me is that the Send/Receive option for
Free/Busy information is greyed out in Outlook. Is this 'normal'. I though
that maybe 'forcing' a synch of this information might be a workaround or fix.

Anyway, enough rambling. If there is informaiton that you need that I did
not get into above please let me know.

Thanks in advance for any insight into solving this issue.

 

[Nikki]

All calendars using the Exchange have both Anonymous and Default.
This is normal.

The removal of the anonymous from the problematic clients permissions
would not effect his ability to see other peoples free/busy information.

I think you are on the right track when you are looking into the fact that
the free/busy information is perhaps not being synchronized to this client.

Is it possible that your client is setup for IFB? (Internet free/busy)
See http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;827775
for more information.

One thing you could try, is to delete the clients Calendar System folder
and then build a fresh one. (Delete the Calendar folder and use a special
Outlook switch to open the client and instruct Exchange to rebuild a new
one.) I have seen a corrupt system folder cause many "odd" problems.

The procedure below is how I do it. However, I use a machine that has
Outlook 2000. I believe the Ffolder utility does not work with Outlook
2003.
If you have a client mailbox that has a corrupt system folder:

1.. Copy all data from the system folder to a pst or another folder of the
same type
2.. Use the Ffolder Utility to delete the System Folder
3.. Then use the "/ResetFolders" command-line switch to rebuild the
Exchange system folder.
Ffolder Utility: Utility to rename or delete "special" Outlook folders such
as the Calendar, Tasks, Inbox, and Contacts. Available in the following
public folder (contact EIS support if you are unable to access the following
public folder):
http://www.slipstick.com/addins/gallery/index.htm#ffolderUtility (May not
work for OLK2003...)

If you do not have access to the Outlook 2000 client, write me back
and I will look into a different procedure. (I should probably update this
trick anyway.)

Nikki

 

[KC]

Nikki,

Thanks for the info.
I am very confident that this user is not publishing his free/busy info to
the web.

You have my interest on the possibility of a corrupted client Calendar
System folder. However, this sounds like it is specific to a specific Outlook
client? The user in question has the same issue using a completely different
Outlook client on our Citrix server.
Does rebuilding the client Calendar System folder happen on the Exchange
server?
It almost sounds like there might be some corruption of the calendar on the
Exchange side.

I would be interested in trying your fix if you can update it so that it
works on OL2003. I do not have access to an OL2000 client (or better stated:
the user in question does not)

-KC

 

[Nikki]

I have not come up with a different solution yet.

Nikki

 

[KC]

Thanks Niki,

Let me know when or if you do.

-KC

 

[Nikki]

I tried the Ffolder.exe on my test profile at work.

I use Outlook 2003.

The Ffolder.exe worked fine.

I would give this a try. The worse case scenerio...you will have to move the
items back into the freshly created folder. No harm.

Nikki