XADM: Reply from POP3 Client to Message Sent from Exchange User Is Returned as Non-Deliverable

ID: Q194192

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Exchange Server, version 5.5

SYMPTOMS

You may experience the following symptoms:

A POP3 client receives a non-delivery report on a reply to a message sent by a Microsoft Exchange Server user. The reply is returned as non-deliverable to the POP3 client because the recipient name is not recognized. (Errors may differ depending on which POP3 client is being used.)

The display name of the sending Exchange Server user contains extended characters, and is formatted in the following manner: Lastname, Firstname.

When viewed from the POP3 client, the display name is broken into two separate addresses separated by a semi-colon. (that is, Lastname; Firstname).

NOTE: When the address is broken in two, the second address (Firstname in the above example) does preserve the correct Reply To address, therefore the message reply is actually delivered. The non-delivery report stems from the first address (Lastname in the above example), and results in the perception that the reply message was not delivered at all.

CAUSE

The Exchange Server information store converts the outgoing message to be in compliance with RFC 1522. The process emits a string (in this case the display name) that contains both a comma, and an extended character. Non- RFC 1522 compliant POP3 clients do not handle this, and translate the comma in the address to a semi-colon.

The information store now encloses the string in quotation marks, this allows both RFC-compliant and non-compliant POP3 clients to properly handle a string with commas and extended characters.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Exchange Server version 5.5. For more information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q191014 XGEN: How to Obtain the Latest Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

Component: Information Store


   File Name    Version
   -----------------------
   Gapi32.dll   5.5.2422.0
   Mdbmsg.dll   5.5.2422.0
   Store.exe    5.5.2422.0

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5.

Additional query words: rfc 1522 eudora netscape pop3


Keywords          : exc55sp2fix 
Version           : WinNT:5.5
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: April 16, 1999