Outlook 2001 on OS 9.2.2 Connection Problem w/ Exchange 5.5 on WinNT 4.0

[nicholas.vu]

This is what I am working with:

Mac G3 w/ OS 9.2.2 and OS 10.3.7 installed
WinNT 4.0 SP6 w/ Exchange 5.5 SP3

After a fresh install of OS 9.2.2 on the Mac, I entered all the correct
IP information in the TCP/IP configuration window. I was able to
connect to the Internet just fine and able to see all computers on the
network that had AppleTalk enabled.

Our Exchange Server does NOT have AppleTalk on it, so we have to
connect to it thru IP. When first launching Outlook 2001, I have to
create a profile and setup the preferences to connect. I put in the
Name of the server where it askes, but when I hit "Check Name", it does
not resolve. Instead, I have to put in the Exchange Server's IP
address, and then it will resolve when I hit "Check Name", but then
reverts the IP address back to the server's Name. So when I try to
connect a second time, I don't get connected.

I have tried pretty much everything I could find from the Internet:

1) I have tried using Hostal
(http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/9732), but that does
not resolve my issue.

2) I have tried connecting to the hosts file (the one that Hostal
creates in the System Folder/Preferences/ folder) in the TCP/IP
settings window in Advanced user mode by hitting the "Select Hosts
File..." and no luck.

3) I have tried going into the Mac Terminal and playing with UNIX under
OSX
(http://www.macwrite.com/criticalmass/ mac-os-x-hosts-panther.php)...
no luck.

4) I have deleted all my Exchange preferences (in the System
Folder/Preferences/ folder) as well as my TCP/IP preferences in the
same folder and re-entered all the settings anew and still... no luck.

Am I doing something wrong here? Is there something really simple I am
missing? I have spend way too many hours on this problem to quit now,
so I am asking for all your help. I'm sure I'm not the only person out
there that has this configuration... I'm just the only one that can't
get it to work. Can someone please help... I am ALMOST at my wits end.
Thanks in advance. If only Outlook didn't change the IP back to a
Name when it resolves, I would be a happy man.

Please note my Startup OS is 9.2.2 and not 10.3.7, because it has to
work in 9.2.2 first before it works in OSX Classic anyway.

 

[William Smith]

I have tried pretty much everything I could find from the Internet:

1) I have tried using Hostal
(http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/9732), but that does
not resolve my issue.

2) I have tried connecting to the hosts file (the one that Hostal
creates in the System Folder/Preferences/ folder) in the TCP/IP
settings window in Advanced user mode by hitting the "Select Hosts
File..." and no luck.

3) I have tried going into the Mac Terminal and playing with UNIX under
OSX
(http://www.macwrite.com/criticalmass/ mac-os-x-hosts-panther.php)...
no luck.

4) I have deleted all my Exchange preferences (in the System
Folder/Preferences/ folder) as well as my TCP/IP preferences in the
same folder and re-entered all the settings anew and still... no luck.

Hi Nicholas!

Outlook 2001 insists on using a name over an IP address. The fact that
you can enter an IP address and have it resolve to a name means that
your DNS is working, which is great. So, concentrate on what would keep
you from connecting by name.

You can try using the fully qualified domain name instead of just the
server name, such as server.mycompany.com. You can also try entering the
"mycompany.com" suffix in your TCP/IP Control Panel's additional search
domain suffixes field. This is important if your company has an internal
network domain name different from the external domain.

If you want to try the Hosts file again, using Simpletext to create a
file named exactly Hosts. put in the following two lines, replacing your
server's information:

server CNAME server.mycompany.com
server.mycompany.com A 192.168.0.1

The two lines above are separated by a return and the three items on
each line are separated by tabs. Be sure to reselect this file in your
TCP/IP Control Panel.

Then in Outlook, simply enter just the server name.

Changing anything in the Terminal under Mac OS X will not have an effect
because your Mac OS 9 system is unaware of Mac OS X and won't use its
network settings.

Hope this helps! bill

 

[nicholas.vu]

Thanks for the reply Mr. Smith. I was hoping you can help me
further... the Exchange Server is on an NT4 box... I'm not sure what
the FQDN would be for it? This is an INTERNAL network, so I don't
believe it would be a ".com" name. Would it be just
"servername.domainname", or "servername.domainname.local"? Our network
isn't on AD quite yet, so I don't know what the FQDN for a server would
be on an old NT4 network. Thanks in advance.

 

[William Smith]

Thanks for the reply Mr. Smith. I was hoping you can help me
further... the Exchange Server is on an NT4 box... I'm not sure what
the FQDN would be for it? This is an INTERNAL network, so I don't
believe it would be a ".com" name. Would it be just
"servername.domainname", or "servername.domainname.local"? Our network
isn't on AD quite yet, so I don't know what the FQDN for a server would
be on an old NT4 network. Thanks in advance.

Hi Nicholas!

the FQDN would have to be a namespace created by one of your network
administrators and you indeed may not have one. It could also be a
..local name as well. If you access an internal website then you might be
using a FQDN as part of the web addresss. Ask your administrator if you
have one and can set you in the right direction.

Otherwise, try the Hosts file idea without the line with the CNAME and
see if this helps.

Good luck! bill

 

[nicholas.vu]

Hello Mr. Smith,

I found out that there is no FQDN for a server in a NT40 environment.
There are only NETBIOS names. I tried the Hosts file idea without the
CNAME line with no success. So it looks like I am out of luck. If
anyone has had success with the same environment as I have described
above, please let me know what you did! I would greatly appreciate it.
Until then, I just don't know what to do now.