ID: Q135352
The information in this article applies to:
Below is a list of frequently asked questions and the answers about version 3.5 of Microsoft Mail for PC Networks.
1. Q. What are the most common Mail issues listed in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base?
A. Q114119: Application Notes Available for Mail for PC
Networks
Q115163: Automating Multiple Mail Logins on NetWare 3.11
Q99946: Available Modem Scripts
Q99725: Checking for Ownerless Files in NetWare
Q103421: Contents of Mail 3.2 Enhancements and Corrections
Q77926: Description of Mail Database Subdirectories
Q94259: Err Msg: Could Not Find Mail System Database
Q111537: Frequently Asked Questions for Mail for Windows
3.2
Q100826: How External Sends Mail Between Postoffices
Q103379: How to Create Groups Spanning Multiple Postoffices
Q96501: Incorrect Unread Message Count
Q95939: Installing PC Mail 3.0 on a Novell 3.11 Server
Q97958: Installing Remote and LAN Drivers on One Computer
Q97080: Mail Installation Prompts for User Data Disk
Q115162: Microsoft At Work PC Fax with Mail 3.2 Windows
Client
Q97852: Modifying Modem Scripts
Q104360: New Mail Notification Using a Custom Command
Q93562: New Mail Notification - Sound Chime & Flash
Envelope
Q92439: Preventing .KEY Files from Locking Up on Networks
Q94210: Running the Mail 3.0b Windows Client from the
Network
Q99636: Running Windows Client on Windows for Workgroups
Q105964: Simple MAPI Common Technical Questions and Answers
Q110733: Summary List of Mail for Windows 3.2 Bugs
Q111000: Summary List of Mail Remote for Windows 3.2 Bugs
Q100455 Using Gateway Address Lists
Q96531: Using Mail Remote with Schedule+
Q101138: Using the ServerPath Entry in the MSMAIL.INI File
Q98912: Version 3.2 Postoffice Upgrade Instructions
2. Q. Is there a list of bug fixes included in version 3.5 of Mail
for PC Networks?
A. All files have been upgraded with version 3.5 of Microsoft
Mail for PC Networks. A comprehensive list of all files
upgraded due to fixes or otherwise revised is as follows:
Client (version 3.5.2000.4086)
MSMAIL.EXE
MAPI.DLL
MSSFS.DLL
SCHEDMSG.DLL
Microsoft Mail (Macintosh workstation)
Server (version 3.5 for .EXE)
ADMIN.EXE
EXTERNAL.EXE
ASYNC.OVL
X25ATLAN.OVL
X25EICON.OVL
IMPORT.EXE
REBUILD.EXE
SRVMAIN.EXE
For more information, see Q132059 ?Summary List of Mail for
PC Networks 3.5 Bug Fixes? in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.
3. Q. Will the MTA and MMTA run under Windows NT?
A. Version 3.2x of the mail transfer agent (MTA) is designed
and tested to run on an MS-DOS-based operating system.
Version 3.2x of the Mail Multitasking MTA (MMTA) is designed
and tested to run on OS/2 and 2.x operating system.
The 3.2x MTA is not supported under any circumstances under
Windows NT. The 3.2x MMTA is supported doing LAN-based
transfers only under the Windows NT operating system. The
MMTA is not supported doing asynchronous transfers because
the MMTA must access hardware directly, and this is not
possible under Windows NT.
Transferring via X.25 is not supported either for the MMTA
on Windows NT, as there was not an X.25 driver for Windows
NT. Only version 3.5 of the Mail Multitasking MMTA for
Windows NT is supported in an NT environment.
4. Q. What is the purpose of inbox shadowing?
A. The Inbox Shadowing feature instructs Mail for Windows to
synchronize its inbox with the other Microsoft for PC
Networks workstations? inboxes.
For example, Mail marks each inbox message once as
synchronized. When you delete a message from the Mail for
Windows inbox, it will be deleted from the inbox for each
other client.
For more information, see Q96718, "Description and Use of
Inbox Shadowing," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.
5. Q. What are the most commonly asked questions about MAPI?
A. The questions most commonly asked about the Messaging
Application Programming Interface (MAPI) can be found in
Q105959, "MAPI Common Questions and Answers." The
information in this article can help you understand what
MAPI is and what it can do.
6. Q. How can I perform maintenance on the Mail for PC Networks
database?
A. The "Database Maintenance Utilities" document describes
operational details for utilities used to repair and maintain
the database for Microsoft Mail for PC Networks. The procedures
described apply to versions 2.1 and later of Microsoft Mail except
where noted.
To obtain this document and the utilities in the United States,
ftp to the following site:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/mail/pcmail-public/WA0641/
7. Q. What integrity or diagnostic tests can be run against my
mail message file (MMF)?
A. There are two utilities that you can run on the MMF:
integrity check and compression.
To run the integrity check:
NOTE: Do not invoke the MMF integrity check unless you know
your MMF is corrupt. There is a possibility, depending on
the contents of an attachment, that the Mail client will
improperly remove part or all of the attachment.
Hold the SHIFT key down while you are entering Mail for
Windows to check the integrity of the MMF.
To run the compression:
Hold the F5 key down while you are entering Mail for
Windows to recover space occupied by deleted objects in
the MMF.
For more information, see Q112265, "Using F5 or SHIFT Key to
Start Mail Utilities," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.
8. Q. I have run MOVEUSER.EXE, and now a number of users cannot
access the mail server. What is the problem?
A. This problem indicates that an ADMIN.EXE password recover
has been executed on the user?s mail message file (MMF)
before you moved the user with MOVEUSER.EXE. As a result,
the password was not carried over to the new mail server.
For more information, see Q117650, "MOVEUSER.EXE Causes
Invalid MMF After Password Reset," in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base.
9. Q. Is there a utility available that will allow me to perform
housekeeping on server-based mail message files (MMFs)?
A. Yes. Microsoft provides MMFCLEAN.EXE, a Windows-based
application, to purge mail from MMFs.
For more information, see Q117693, "Microsoft Mail
MMFCLEAN.EXE Utility," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.
10. Q. How can I optimize Mail connections via Remote Access
Service (RAS)?
A. Microsoft Mail for Windows is supported over RAS; although
it will be much slower than if you access Mail directly over
a network. (Version 3.2 of Microsoft Mail Remote for Windows
provides faster access.) If you need to use Mail for Windows
over RAS, you should compose and read messages offline.
For more information, see Q119581, "Using Mail Over RAS," in
the Microsoft Knowledge Base.
11. Q. Why do I get the error "This account is not a valid user of
this message file" when I log in to the Windows client?
A. You will receive the error when the criteria contained in
the Mail Message File (MMF) does not match your information
on the postoffice. When this message is seen, it indicates
that you are being properly validated by the postoffice, and
the information returned from the postoffice does not match
what is in the MMF.
For more information, see Q130096, "Err Msg: This Account Is
Not a Valid User of this...," in the Microsoft Knowledge
Base.
12. Q. Can I have more than one Directory Synchronization (Dir-
Sync) server within my organization?
A. No. Requestors can be registered with only one Dir-Sync
server. Also, the Dir-Sync server cannot be registered as a
requestor with another Dir-Sync server.
For more information about the Dir-Sync process, please see
Q96060, "Directory Synchronization (Dir-Sync)" in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base.
13. Q. Can the MS-DOS Directory Synchronization (Dir-Sync) files be
used on the OS/2 platform with the Multitasking MTA (MMTA)?
A. Yes. The Dir-Sync files (IMPORT.EXE, NSDA.EXE, REBUILD.EXE,
REQMAIN.EXE, and SRVMAIN.EXE) are ?bound? applications. As a
result, they can be run on multiple platforms, such as MS-
DOS and OS/2.
All Dir-Sync files, except DISPATCH.EXE, can be run in these
environments.
14. Q. What is the MAIL.DAT file?
A. The MAIL.DAT is a file created when Advanced Security is
installed on the postoffice. This file contains the location
of the postoffice data files. The file is encrypted so users
cannot see the location of the data files; thus, they can
not tamper with them.
The MAIL.DAT file must reside in the Mail executable
directory. If you remove the file, your postoffice no longer
has the advanced security features, and users must establish
a drive connection to the Maildata share to use the Mail
program.
For more information about the MAIL.DAT file, refer to
Chapter 2 of the Mail for PC Networks "Administrator?s
Guide."
15. Q. How can two or more users run Microsoft Mail from one
workstation?
A. To run multiple Mail clients from the same workstation, make
the MSMAIL.INI file read-only. As a result, each person who
logs in to the workstation will have to enter his or her
name and password information to access the Mail account.
16. Q. How can I create groups on one postoffice that span multiple
postoffices?
To set up this environment so that the least amount of
maintenance is needed, do the following:
1. Create a group on each postoffice titled, for example,
All PO# Users
where # is the postoffice number. Each group should
contain ALL local users, but NO external users.
2. Export the updated address lists among all the
postoffices (or let the directory synchronization (Dir-
Sync) cycle complete).
NOTE: If a group only contains users on the local
postoffice, it can participate in Dir-Sync.
3. After the Dir-Sync cycle is complete, from the
Administrator program on each postoffice, merge the group
names from the other postoffices into the local
postoffice address list (POL) using the Address, Create
command.
4. Create a group on EACH postoffice, for example,
All Users at ABC Company
The group should contain all local users (the same users
as in step 1 above) AND the All PO# Users group names
from the other postoffices.
Notes:
- Once the groups in step 4 have been created, you should
not export the address list again. Doing so will create
duplicate group names on the Global Address List (GAL).
- Because this group will contain two external addresses,
it will not participate in Dir-Sync.
For more information on automating groups, see Q103379, ?How
to Create Groups Spanning Multiple Postoffices? and Q124044
?Replicating Postoffice Address List Groups Between POs? in
the Microsoft Knowledge Base.
17. Q. How can I create group folders from Mail for Windows?
A. Group folders cannot be created in the Windows client. They
must be created in the Microsoft Mail for PC Networks, MS-
DOS workstation in order for the Windows client to use them.
18. Q. My Directory Synchronization (Dir-Sync) cycle is one hour
off the week before Daylight Saving Time begins. How can I
correct this?
A. The PROCESS.GLB is not Daylight Saving Time (DST) aware, but
the Dispatch process is. As a result, when Dispatch queries
the PROCESS.GLB schedule table, it calculates each process
up to a week (604,800 seconds) in advance. The week before
DST, Dispatch interprets the table as one week plus one hour
different; however the difference is not noted in the
PROCESS.GLB schedule.
To correct this, either re-adjust the times in the
Administrator?s program (ADMIN.EXE) to update the
PROCESS.GLB file, or use the TimeZone (-TZ) variable on the
External command line.
For more information, see Q101753 ?When to Use the Time Zone
Option with Dir-Sync? in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.
19. Q. How do I configure Mail when a shared version of Microsoft
Windows is installed on my network server?
A. The information in the Microsoft Knowledge Base article
Q107444 ?Running Windows Client from the Network? outlines
the procedures for users to run Mail for Windows from the
network without storing Mail files on their local
workstations.
The following procedures are outlined in the article so that
the network administrator can set up Mail so users can run
Mail for Windows from the network without storing Mail files
on their local workstations.
·- "Running Windows and Mail from the Network--Same Directory"
explains how to set up Mail for Windows when users run both
Microsoft Windows and version 3.2a of Mail for Windows
from the same network directory.
· - "Running Windows and Mail from the Network--Different
Directories" explains how to set up Mail for Windows when
users run both Windows and Mail for Windows from different
network directories.
· - "Running Windows Locally and Mail from the Network"
explains how to set up Mail for Windows when users run
Windows locally and run Mail for Windows from the network.
· - "Running Windows from the Network and Mail Locally"
explains how to set up Mail for Windows when users run
Windows from the network and run Mail for Windows locally.
20. Q. What are the differences between the Windows for Workgroups
version of Mail and retail Mail?
A. The Workgroups Mail postoffice architecture is similar to
the architecture for Microsoft Mail for PC Networks. This is
so users with connectivity needs beyond their workgroup can
easily upgrade.
The postoffice structure and Windows client are identical
except for the following:
- No Demo files are in the workgroup postoffice. Microsoft
Mail for PC Networks does include these files.
- No spell checker is supplied with Microsoft Mail for PC
Networks.
- The postoffice in Windows for Workgroups does not support
connections to external postoffices or gateways. For
example, a Windows for Workgroups postoffice cannot connect
to another postoffice or gateway.
- Microsoft Mail for PC Networks includes support for
global aliases or network group names while Windows for
Workgroups Mail does not.
- The default ADMIN.TPL and ADMIN.INF files in Windows for
Workgroups Mail are created with predefined user information
in the workgroup postoffice. For example, the user templates
included in Windows for Workgroups Mail contain template
information regarding Phone number #1, Phone number #2, Office,
Department, and Notes. These must be created separately in
Microsoft Mail for PC Networks.
- Microsoft Mail for PC Networks includes an administration
program not created in Windows for Workgroups Mail. In Windows
for Workgroups, the administration program is accessed via
the Mail menu in the Windows Mail client.
- Microsoft Mail for PC Networks includes an administration
utility that is used to administer and configure the postoffice.
The ADMIN.EXE program can be used to configure and administer
the postoffice from any workstation on the network running
MS-DOS. In Windows for Workgroups, the administration program
is accessed via the Mail menu in the Windows Mail client. Only
the administrator can log on under his or her account and
administer the postoffice on the workstation only.
- The Mail client included with Microsoft Windows for Workgroups
version 3.11 is designed to work with Microsoft At Work PC Fax.
However, At Work Fax is not supported with version 3.2 of
Microsoft Mail for Windows.
For more information, see Q94178, "Differences Between
Windows for Workgroups Mail & PC Mail." in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base.
Keywords : MailPCGen
Version : 3.50
Platform : MS-DOSLast Reviewed: September 1, 1998