Outlook Connector for Domino Suddenly Stopped Working

[Chris Slowinski]

Hi,

Just last week, my Outlook Connector for Domino stopped working after having
used it for well over a year. The problems started with me not being able to
send mail and then the next day, I was not able to receive. When I say
"stopped working", I mean just that - through no actions on my part, I could
no longer access my mail database on the Domino server.

So, I thought that deleting and adding the e-mail account might fix this. I
followed the normal procedures for adding a Domino e-mail account in Outlook.
When I started Outlook, I was presented with the Domino configuration dialog
(the one that shows the address of the Domino server and the path to the
user.id file) twice in a row (this normally only appears in the setup phase).
Outlook finally started and when I tried to open the top-level folder for
the account, I was presented with an error dialog that says: "The set of
folders could not be opened. Ther server is not available. Contact your
administrator if this condition persists." Futhermore, I was actually able
to access the corporate contact list stored in the Domino server, I just
can't access my mailbox or calendar. I tried using IBM's connector but that
randomly misses e-mail and when I attempt to look at my calendar, Outlook
hangs hard. These might be symptoms of a more serious problem.

I'm pretty sure this isn't a client-side problem as I've tried several
things to eliminate that possibility (ended up rebuilding my machine, not
because of this, but coincidental in its timing - so new client
installations; had my user.id file regenerated just in case). My mail
database was compacted and decorrupted but this didn't fix anything. I am
fairly certain this is a problem only with my account since another person
has not experienced any issues with his connector.

Can anyone offer any suggestions, please?


Thanks,

Chris

 

[Ian]

Hey Chris

A similar thing happened with me. I actually had my notebook stolen out of
my car and now can't get either the IBM or Microsoft versions to work on my
new Notebook. The Notes one starts then crashes before actually loading any
documents in the initial load. The microsoft one has the same symptoms as
your problem. Have you resolved it yet?

Regards ... Ian

 

[Chris Slowinski]

I did get it resolved, but I'm not really sure why. I managed to convince
the Domino administrator to completely delete my Domino mail database. This
meant that all of the mail and whatnot was gone but I had local backups so I
wasn't worried. This didn't help, I still experienced the same problem, even
after a clean install of Outlook 2003. So then, on a whim, I uninstalled
Outlook 2003 and the connecter and installed Outlook 2002 and the connector
again. I now had access to Domino from Outlook 2002.

Fantastic.

I proceeded to uninstall 2002 and install 2003. Still had access. Super.
I was also able to load my old .nst files without a problem (I was worried
about them being corrupted which caused the issue in the first place).

So, I cannot honestly say what either the cause or solution was. There may
have been a problem with the Domino database that migrated its way to the
client and somehow buggered up some file that the Outlook 2002 install
killed. Obviously the 2002 installation did something and it would be nice
to know what it was. One thing to try might be completely uninstalling
Office (wiping registry and so forth), but that has its own set of concerns.

I apologize I'm not able to give you a direct solution.


Chris

-

 

[vaishakhi]

Hello Chris and Ian,
by any chance have you figured out how to fix this problem? I have
almost an identical issue. The notes connector worked like a charm till
I changed my machine and I cant get it up and running. My problem is
that I dont have access to outlook 2002 setup files. Our company only
has 2003 version. Any help here would be of great help.

 

[Chris Slowinski]

Okay, a co-worker just did a complete rebuild of a machine and started to
experience this problem. We sat together and worked through it and we may
have a resolution. It's a bit sloppy, but it worked.

His first clue was from something somone posted here:
http://loudcarrot.com/Blogs/dave/archive/2004/07/29/353.aspx

A post from this page indicates that a security patch (KB892843) was the
culprit (see the page for more detail). We didn't see this particular patch
installed on the machine; thererfore, we:

- Removed all of the Office updates (make sure the Show Updates checkbox is
checked in the Add/Remove Programs dialog);
- Uninstalled Office 2003 completely;
- Uninstalled the Domino Connector;
- Deleted any directories left over from the uninstall;
- Deleted the Office branch from the registry
(HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office); this branch is not removed by the
uninstaller;
- (I can't remember if the uninstaller for the connector removed its entry
in the registry (HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Outlook Connector for Domino). If
it didn't, remove it);
- Installed Office 2003 as usual

He was able to access his mail files. We have no idea if removal of the
security update mentioned above had any effect since we couldn't see it
existing as a separate patch. I hope this provides some help. I realize
this isn't a surgical solution but someone with more intimate knowledge of
the interplay between all the components may be able to provide a more
specific solution.

Good luck!


Chris