Invisible Attachments

[Ken Richmond]

Hi All,

Exchange 2007/Outlook 2003.

I have a strange attachment issue here. On occasion, a user will receive an
email that is supposed to contain an attachment. The message size indicates
that it's larger than just an email (one example showed a message size of
160K). The strange thing is that when the message is opened, it doesn't
show an attachment. The attachment simply isn't there.

Now, to make things even stranger... if the user has a Blackberry, the
message received on the Blackberry (via our BES server) contains the
attachment as expected. The same is true if the user accesses his inbox
via OWA.

Even stranger still... if I receive one of these 'invisible' attachments in
my Outlook inbox and forward it to myself from Outlook, the new message that
I receive from myself in Outlook doesn't contain the attachment, but the
message I receive from myself on my Blackberry or OWA does contain the
attachment.

Finally, the strangest straw of them all... if I forward the message from my
Blackberry or OWA to myself, the message will show up in my Outlook inbox
with the attachment in tact.

The attachment in all cases above was the same word document. The title was
Vantage MSA Exhibit D INS.doc, but it has happened with other attachments.

I'm stumped. Any suggestions?

 

[Emily Lin]

Hi Kenny,

Does the issue occur with all the emails with attachment?

I recommend you to check the message format. Is it HTML, Rich Text, or Plain Text format in Outlook 2007 (it will show up in the message
window title)?

Follow the steps below to see if it works.

1. If the message format is Rich Text, the attachment will be shown in the message body, please try to find it in the message body.
2. If you cannot find the attachment, press Ctrl+F to forward the message. And then click the Options ribbon > choose HTML. Does the
attachment show in the forwarded message window?

3. If you still cannot find the attachment, it may be related to the Outlook views. Check Outlook safe mode.
-----------------------------
a. Exit Outlook.
b. Click Start > Run > type "outlook /safe" (without the quotation marks), click OK.
c. If you can view the attachment in Outlook safe mode, exit Outlook. Search for the following 4 files and rename them by changing the file
extension from ".dat" to ".old". These four files are temporary cache files that Outlook 2003 loads on startup. (Be sure to check the "Search
hidden files and folders" box under "More advanced options")

outcmd.dat
extend.dat
frmcache.dat
views.dat

d. Start Outlook to test the issue again.

If anything is unclear or if you have any other concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Regards,

Emily Lin

Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
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[Ken Richmond]

Hi Emily,

This does not occur with all attachments. It's sporadic.

All messages that have this problem have been with HTML format, and there is
no indication of an attachment within the message, nor is there a paperclip
on the envelope icon in the inbox.

Starting Outlook in safe mode had no effect.

Renaming the files you suggested had no effect.

Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Ken

 

[Emily Lin]

Hi Kenny,

Based on your description, it seems that the attachment was deleted when the mails is received in Outlook. Do you have any clue that what
kind of attachments will be lost?

At this point, empty the Outlook addin and rules and then check if the new received mails with attachment will lost its attachment. Note: This
step cannot recover the attachment which has been lost in Outlook. If you want to get those attachment, forward the messages from OWA to
workaround it.
================
1. In Outlook, click Tools > Rules and Alerts > disable all the rules.
2. Exit Outlook.
3. Run regedit to open the Registry Editor.
4. Locate the following registry key.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins\
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins\

5. Right click it and choose Export to backup it as a file outlookaddin1.reg and outlookaddin2.reg on the desktop.
6. Delete all the sub-keys under the above key - Addins.

Test the issue for a long time to see if the issue recurs in the new received emails.

If anything is unclear or if you have any other concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Regards,

Emily Lin

Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
====================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via your newsreader so that others may learn and benefit from your issue.
====================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

--------------------

 

[Emily Lin]

Hi Kenny,

How's everything going?

I'm wondering if the suggestion has helped or if you have any further questions. Please feel free to respond to the newsgroups if you need any
additional help.

Sincerely,

Emily Lin,
Microsoft Online Partner Support

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security

======================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via your newsreader so that others may learn and benefit from this issue.
======================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.


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[mzubovich]

We're having this same problem with a few users - an email will come
in, with an attachment, yet the user cannot the see the attachment
(the email is HTML). When a user clicks Reply or Forward the
attachments shows up.

Any help would be appreciated.
Mikhail