XCON: Unable to Start Microsoft Exchange MTA; Errors 1067 & 2140

ID: Q155027

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to start the Microsoft Exchange Message Transfer Agent (MTA), it may fail to start and generate one of the following error messages:

Could not start the Microsoft Exchange Message Transfer Agent service on \\<servername>
Error 1067: The process terminated unexpectedly.
Could not start the Microsoft Exchange Message Transfer Agent service on\\<servername>
Error: 2140: An internal Windows NT error has occurred.
Inspection of the application log in Event Viewer reveals the following events:
Event ID: 137, Source: MSExchangeMTA.
A fatal directory error occurred. Change to the maximum logging level for more details. [MTA MAIN BASE 1 15] (16)
After changing the logging on Directory Access and Field Engineering from the properties of MTA object's Diagnostics Logging page to Maximum, the MTA reports one of the following warning messages in Event Viewer:
Event Id: 2245, Type: Warning, Category: Directory Access Directory operation (ds_read) failed with problem DS_E_NO_SUCH_OBJECT. Attribute . Directory Name (string): /O=<organization> /OU=<site>/CN=CONFIGURATION/CN=SERVERS/CN=<server name>/CN=MICROSOFT MTA. [RD Server MAIN BASE 1 114] (8)
Event 2241: Directory operation (ds_search) failed with problem DS_E_NO_SUCH_OBJECT. Attribute: . Root Directory Name: / o=<organization>/ou=<site>/cn=Configuration/cn=Connections. [RD Server MAIN BASE 1 116] (12)


CAUSE

The value of the following registry key in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE subtree 


    System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeMTA\Parameters\X500 DN

does not match the corresponding directory entry.


RESOLUTION

Check the value of the registry key, and edit it if necessary so that it matches the corresponding registry key.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved.

Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

  1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).


  2. Under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE subtree, go to the following subkey: 
    
         System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeMTA\Parameters\X500 DN


  3. Check the VALUE for this key. The Organization [o=], Site [ou=], and Server Directory names [cn=] must exactly match the properties of the Organization, Site, and Server objects as displayed in Microsoft Exchange Administrator program.

    To see whether these objects match the value of the registry key:


    1. Click on each of these objects in the left-hand pane of the Microsoft Exchange Server Administrator program.


    2. On the File menu, click Properties. The Directory Name of each of these objects should exactly match the corresponding attribute in the registry setting described above.



MORE INFORMATION

When the Microsoft Exchange MTA initializes, it checks the Distinguished Name of the MTA object in the registry and verifies it is exactly the same as the one stored in the Microsoft Exchange Directory.

Additional query words: 2140 137 MTA 


Keywords          : kbusage XCON 
Version           : winnt:4.0
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        :

Last Reviewed: April 1, 1999