--------------------------------------------------------- Microsoft Outlook OST Integrity Check Tool Readme File (c) Microsoft Corporation, 2000. All rights reserved. This document provides information about Microsoft Outlook OST Integrity Check Tool, as well as answers to questions you might have. ------------------------ How to Use This Document ------------------------ To view the Readme file on screen in Microsoft Windows Notepad, maximize the Notepad window. On the Edit menu, click Word Wrap. To print the Readme file, open it in Notepad or another word processor, and then use the Print command on the File menu. -------- CONTENTS -------- -- OVERVIEW -- RELATIONSHIP TO THE INBOX REPAIR TOOL (SCANPST.EXE) -- RUNNING THE TOOL -- UNDERSTANDING THE SCAN LOG -- ERROR MESSAGES THAT CAN BE DISPLAYED DURING THE SCAN -------- OVERVIEW -------- You create an offline folder (.ost) file on your computer to store a copy of folders that are in your mailbox on an Exchange Server. That way you can work with the items in the folders even when you're not connected to the server. To update folders on the server with changes you made in the .ost file (or vice versa), you synchronize the folders. The offline folders feature has proven to be very reliable since it’s introduction. Periodically, however, there have been reports of problems synchronizing the .ost file. Diagnosing these problems requires comparing the contents of the folders on the server and the folders in the .ost file and resolving discrepancies between them. The OST Integrity Check Tool for Outlook not only performs this kind of analysis for you, it can also resolve discrepancies that cause synchronization problems. The OST Integrity Check Tool scans both the mailbox on the server and the .ost file on your computer, comparing items and folders in both locations. If the tool finds any differences between the two sets of information, it attempts to reconcile them. The tool records these differences in a scan log so you can monitor the discrepancies it found and resolved. The scan log also identifies any differences the tool isn't able to reconcile that you'll need to resolve yourself. --------------------------------------------------- RELATIONSHIP TO THE INBOX REPAIR TOOL (SCANPST.EXE) --------------------------------------------------- The Inbox Repair Tool (Scanpst.exe) is another tool you can use to diagnose and repair problems in your .ost file. However, the Inbox Repair Tool scans the offline folder file only, making sure that the file structure is intact. It does not scan your mailbox on the Exchange server. Use the Inbox Repair Tool if you have problems opening the offline folder file. Use the OST Integrity Check Tool if you have problems synchronizing your .ost file with the Exchange server. ---------------- RUNNING THE TOOL ---------------- Once you've installed OST Integrity Check Tool, you can run it whenever you experience synchronization problems. >>>To run the OST Integrity Check Tool: 1 Make sure you are logged on to your network so the tool can connect to your Exchange server to scan its folders and items. Note: If you previously set up Outlook to automatically start offline, the OST Integrity Check Tool won't be able to access your Exchange server. Therefore, before you run the tool, you need to temporarily change the startup settings in Outlook. You can set up Outlook to either automatically connect with your network or prompt you to choose the type of connection. 2 Quit Outlook if it's running. 3 Launch the OST Integrity Check Tool. 4 In the reminder to quit Outlook, click the Don't show this dialog again check box to prevent this reminder from displaying each time you run the tool. 5 If you set up Outlook to prompt for a profile, the tool will also prompt you for one. In the Profile Name list, click a profile that includes an information service for Microsoft Exchange Server. 6 If you set up Outlook to prompt whether you want to work offline or online, the tool will also prompt you to either connect or work offline. Click Connect. 7 In the OST Integrity Check window, click one of the following options: Scan all folders. This is the default, and it checks every folder in the offline folder file. or Choose folders to scan. This option enables you to specify the folders so you can minimize the number that are scanned. It's the quickest method if you are experiencing synchronization problems in only a few folders or are attempting the scan over a slow connection to the Exchange server. After clicking the option, locate in the folder list the folders you want to scan, then select the check box next to each one. (Only folders you made available for offline use have check boxes and can be scanned. For information about making folders available offline, see Outlook Help.) Note: Regardless of the option you choose, the tool will not scan the Deleted Items folder. 5 To have the tool automatically resolve discrepancies it finds during the scan, make sure the Repair Errors check box at the bottom of the OST Integrity Check window is selected. To have the tool log the issues but not make the necessary corrections, clear this check box. 6 Click Begin Scan. Depending on the number of folders and items, the scan may take several minutes to complete. You can cancel it at any time. >>>To view the scan log: 1 Start Outlook, and then open the .ost file on your computer, or open your mailbox on the Exchange server. 2 Open the Deleted Items folder, and then open the message with the subject "OST Integrity Check." 3 For an explanation of the scan log, see the next section "Understanding the Scan Log." -------------------------- UNDERSTANDING THE SCAN LOG -------------------------- The log lists each phase of the scan operation, the synchronizations it performed, actions it took during synchronization (such as adding or deleting an item), and discrepancies it identified between the .ost file and mailbox on the Exchange server during each scan phase. In some cases, the log lists the same discrepancy for more than one phase. This indicates that the tool couldn't resolve the discrepancy the first time, so it continued its attempts in subsequent phases. If the tool wasn't able to reconcile the differences, your log contains an entry titled "If problems are found in this scan, they must be fixed manually." You'll need to manually resolve discrepancies listed after this entry using the recommendations in the "Scan Log Messages" section later in this file. There is one exception, however. You can ignore a discrepancy if it's for an e-mail message that arrived at the Exchange Server while the OST Integrity Check Tool was scanning. In this case, the tool logs the new e-mail message as a problem because it hasn't been synchronized with the offline folder file. However, this does not mean that there is a data integrity problem with the file. To determine whether you received the e-mail after the scan started, check the time on the e-mail message against the scan start time noted in the log. Note: If the tool finds messages that it cannot synchronize, it creates a folder called Synchronization Failures in your offline folder file. It then moves the unsynchronized messages to this folder. (The tool will not scan or synchronize the Synchronization Failures folder.) For messages related to the Synchronization Failures folder and recommendations for working with items in the folder, see the following section. SCAN LOG MESSAGES The following recommendations apply only if the message is listed in your scan log after an entry titled "If problems are found in this scan, they must be fixed manually." MESSAGE: "An error occurred while attempting to move a message to the Synchronization Failures folder. The move was not successful. DESCRIPTION: Indicates that the tool could not synchronize a message between the .ost file and the mailbox on the server, and that the tool was unsuccessful in moving the message to the Synchronization Failures folder. The message cannot be repaired. RECOMMENDATION: If you can, open the message, copy its content, create a new message, and then paste the content into it. Save the new message. In the Inbox, try deleting the original message by selecting it and then pressing SHIFT+DELETE. MESSAGE: "Moved message that failed synchronization to 'Synchronization Failures.'" DESCRIPTION: The tool successfully moved a message to the Synchronization Failures folder. RECOMMENDATION: To preserve the message's content, open the message, copy the information to another message or file, then save any attachments. MESSAGE: "The folder 'Folder Name' exists in your mailbox on the Microsoft Exchange server but not in your offline folder file." DESCRIPTION: The tool attempted to create the folder 'Folder Name' in the offline folder file but was not successful. RECOMMENDATION: Create a new folder in your mailbox on the Exchange server, and then move the contents of the original folder to the new folder. In the Folder List, delete the original folder by selecting it and then pressing SHIFT+DELETE. MESSAGE: "The folder 'Folder Name' exists in your offline folder file but not in your mailbox on the Microsoft Exchange Server." DESCRIPTION: The tool attempted to create the folder 'Folder Name' on the Exchange server but was not successful. RECOMMENDATION: Create the folder in your offline folder file, and then move the contents of the original folder to the new folder. In the Folder List, delete the original folder by selecting it and then pressing SHIFT+DELETE. MESSAGE: "The folder 'Folder Name' in your mailbox on the Microsoft Exchange server does not match the folder in your offline folder file." DESCRIPTION: Properties on the folder in your mailbox did not match properties on the equivalent folder in your .ost file. The tool attempted to change the values to match but was not successful. RECOMMENDATION: Create a new folder in either your offline folder file or your mailbox on the Exchange Server, and then move the contents of the original folder to the new folder. In the Folder List, delete the original folder by selecting it and then pressing SHIFT+DELETE. MESSAGE: "The message with the subject 'Message Subject' exists in your mailbox on the Microsoft Exchange server but not in your offline folder file." DESCRIPTION: The tool attempted to create the message in the offline folder file but was not successful. RECOMMENDATION: Create a new message in your mailbox on the Exchange Server, and then copy the contents of the original message to the new message. In the Inbox, delete the original message by selecting it and then pressing SHIFT+DELETE. MESSAGE: "The message with the subject 'Message Subject' exists in the offline folder file but not in your mailbox on the Microsoft Exchange server." DESCRIPTION: The tool attempted to create the message on the Exchange Server but was not successful. RECOMMENDATION: Create a new message in your offline folder file, and then copy the contents of the original message to the new message. In the Inbox, delete the original message by selecting it and then pressing SHIFT+DELETE. MESSAGE: "The message with the subject 'Message Subject' in your mailbox on the Microsoft Exchange server does not match the message in the offline folder file." DESCRIPTION: The tool attempted to correct the discrepancy but was not successful. RECOMMENDATION: Create a new message in either your offline folder file or in your mailbox on the Exchange Server, and then copy the contents of the original message to the new message. In the Inbox, delete the original message by selecting it and then pressing SHIFT+DELETE. ---------------------------------------------------- ERROR MESSAGES THAT CAN BE DISPLAYED DURING THE SCAN ---------------------------------------------------- During the scan process, you may receive any of the following error messages: ERROR: "Out of memory or system resources. Close some windows or programs and try again." CAUSE: The system does not have enough memory or system resources to complete the operation. ERROR: "Your mailbox is not configured for offline synchronization. You do not need to use this tool." CAUSE: The information service you set up for Microsoft Exchange Server does not specify an offline folder file. For information on creating an offline folder file, see Outlook Help. ERROR: "Offline synchronization is not supported for your mailbox." CAUSE: Your default profile does not have an information service set up for Microsoft Exchange Server. Select a profile that includes Microsoft Exchange Server. ERROR: "Cannot open your mailbox." CAUSE: The tool could not open the offline folder file or connect to the Exchange server. You might be missing some Outlook files or using outdated ones. To correct the problem, reinstall the tool. ERROR: "You must be working online to use this tool." CAUSE: You are not logged on to your network, you set up Outlook to automatically start offline, or when prompted whether to connect or work offline, you chose Offline. The tool could not access your Exchange server. Make sure you are connected to the network, and if necessary, change your settings so Outlook automatically connects with your network or prompts you to choose the type of connection. When you run the OST Integrity Check Tool, if you're prompted to Connect or Work Offline, choose Connect. ERROR: "An error occurred while scanning your folders. See the OST Integrity Check message in your Deleted Items folder for more details." CAUSE: The OST Integrity Check Tool was unable to resolve all of the problems with the offline folder file. Review the log for an entry titled "If problems are found in this scan, they must be fixed manually." You'll need to correct these problems using the recommendations in the Scan Log Messages section earlier in this file. ERROR: "Some Outlook files on your system are not compatible with the OST Integrity Check Tool. Possible causes: --- One or more Outlook files are out of date. To update the files, reinstall the OST Integrity Check Tool. --- You have the Microsoft Office Language Pack installed and are using a language setting other than English. The OST Integrity Check Tool requires the English version of Outlook. To solve the problem, temporarily switch your language setting to English before running the OST Integrity Check Tool." CAUSE: Some files are incompatible. ERROR: "An unknown error occurred." CAUSE: The cause is undetermined.