Microsoft KB Archive/103421

= PC Gen: Contents of Mail 3.2 Enhancements and Corrections =

Article ID: 103421

Article Last Modified on 10/30/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Mail for PC Networks 3.2

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This article was previously published under Q103421



SUMMARY
Version 3.2 of Microsoft Mail for PC Networks contains the following enhancements and corrections:

SERVER ENHANCEMENTS

 * Multitasking Message Transfer Agent (MTA), which is sold separately.
 * Microsoft Windows Move User utility that can move users from version 2.1, 3.0, and 3.2 postoffices to version 3.0 or 3.2 postoffices.
 * Two different Batch User Create utilities that can create new users on a local postoffice. One reads the Novell NetWare 2.1x or 3.11 bindery, the other reads the NET.ACC file from a Microsoft LAN Manager user level security file server.
 * Microsoft Mail Gateway to AT&T Easylink Mail (U.S. product only).
 * Transfer mail through native X.25.
 * Ability to limit message size when transferring over a network.
 * MTA can be configured to reboot automatically if critical error is detected.
 * Postoffice is no longer limited to one Dynamic Drive table.
 * Mail is now transferred by the MTA using First In/First Out (FIFO).
 * Improved reliability of the asynchronous transmission protocol.
 * Improved algorithm for handling P1 files.
 * Improved error messages in SYSTEM.LOG.
 * MS-DOS MTA low memory conditions have been improved. Also, more reliable with large message bodies.
 * OS/2 Rebuild runs 35% to 55% faster than MS-DOS Rebuild.
 * Directory Synchronization (DirSync) does not update any of the GAL files if any of them are in use.
 * The Administrator program updates versions 1.0 and 1.0a of Microsoft Schedule+ for Windows calendar (.CAL) passwords.

SERVER CORRECTIONS
Bug #  Description

7   IMPORT -A causes an incorrect mailbag assigned when importing SNADS, PROFS, and OfficeVision addresses.

Version 3.0 of Import creates a separate mailbag for each SNADS, PROFS, and OfficeVision user instead of pointing all imported users to the mailbag for their gateway. Since the gateways only check the gateway mailbag, the mail messages never get delivered.

60   External does not report an error on a lost .MAI file.

A new error message will be received by the sender when the version 3.2 of External cannot find a .MAI file. The error that the user sees is:

"Message was not sent due to missing message file"

It will also be logged in the SYSTEM.LOG with the error message:

"Mail retry count exceeded sending to: username error."

61   External reports incorrect error sending mail with lost .ATT files.

If a mail message is created with attachments and saved to be          sent later using the MS-DOS client, but before the message is           sent one of the attachment files gets deleted. Then version 3.0 of External will report various errors in SYSTEM.LOG and SESSION.LOG.

Version 3.2 of External will report a non-delivery message to          the sender:

"Mail was not sent due to missing attachment."

There will also be an accompanying notice in the SYSTEM.LOG.

62   Infinite "disk error" when out of disk space sending attachment.

When version 3.0 of External tries to send a message with an          attachment to a postoffice with insufficient disk space, then external tries to send this message indefinitely (or until the          lifespan of the message is exceeded).

In version 3.2 of External, before each mail item is sent the destination PO drive is checked for available disk space. If          not, the drive will be marked as FULL and delivery will be           attempted at the next interval update.

64   External: Locked files cause incorrect delivery.

Version 3.2 of External now puts an error message in          SYSTEM.LOG.

65   External loses messages under low memory conditions.

Version 3.2 of External now properly returns undeliverable messages by only parsing the data necessary to return to          sender.

66   External: Postoffice not processed if mailbag is missing.

In version 3.2 of External, if the mailbag for a particular postoffice is missing, External will log the error,

"Drive in error: M:"

to the screen and SESSION.LOG. It will continue to process mail on this drive to other locations.

68   External ignores Admin settings for baud rate.

In version 3.2 of Admin, the baud rate setting for external postoffice definitions has been removed. The following reasons support this decission:

- It is ignored in older versions - Incoming call rates are not predictable - Modem scripts over-ride the default

69   External does not deliver large messages.

Version 3.2 returns these messages to sender with an          explanation.

71   Admin: Adding SNADS user without adding DGN gets wrong address.

When adding a SNADS user to the postoffice address list with Admin, if the DGN for that user was not already defined, Admin created the wrong address for the user and mapped the name to          an existing DGN even though the administrator correctly typed in a valid DGN in the DEN.DGN. This address which is added to          the postoffice address list is correct, but the added reference to gateway list for this DGN/NODE was incorrect.

This was also a potential problem for PROFS/OfficeVision users when adding users to NODES not already defined. The correct behavior is to not add the user and the reference to the gateway list when DGN/Node is not already defined.

72   External: Multiple modem messages put in response buffer.

Version 3.0 of External would occassionally get the error:

"failure to initialize modem"

upon initializing the modem. External was incorrectly reading the modems' response buffer.

76   Import accepts transaction without mailbox name.

Version 3.2 of Import will not create a user account unless a          valid address exists in the import file. Version 3.0 of Import would let you add a user even if you forgot to include the 10 charactor mailbox name.

82   Admin: Remote client cannot read external POs and gateways listed in RNETWORK.GLB file.

When regenerating the directory view for Remote clients, the Admin utility would corrupt the RNETWORK.GLB file if there were no additional external Postoffices defined within the same Network.

179   DirSync updates lost in import request.

In version 3.2, the SRVSEQ value (the # of the last          transaction sent to this Requestor) used as a reference to           the local directory store is now read from the Server PO           REQCONF.GLB and not from SRVCONF.GLB. This will keep track of Import requests properly.

329   Import does not handle FFAPI add transactions properly.

Version 3.2 of Import will now treat FFAPI type addresses the same as PCM type addresses.

370   Reqmain: No message sent to Admin if REQTRANS.GLB is not processed.

Version 3.0 would not report an error if REQTRANS.GLB was corrupt. Version 3.2 will report:

"FATAL [ 40] Possible database corruption detected:              REQTRANS."

371   Srvmain: No message sent to Admin if MSTTRANS.GLB is        corrupt.

Version 3.0 would report no error if the MSTTRANS.GLB is          corrupt. Version 3.2 reports a fatal error that is sent to          the Server Administrator as part of the summary report for DirSync.

680   External: Circular routing problems.

Version 3.0 of External can cause circular routing of          messages when more than one External is sending mail from the same postoffice at the same time.

1149   Attachments can be stranded if external connection is        dropped.

Version 3.2 of External will now stop the delivery of a          message if the transport layer fails while delivering attachments.

1314   Attachments not always deleted from postoffice.

In version 3.0, the attachment delete loop would cause only the first attachment of a message to be deleted when a          message was deleted.

1361   External: X.CSI wastes too much time recovering from Return No Response (RNR) and Reject (REJ).

Version 3.2 of External will rely on modem hardware flow control (RTS/CTS) in the SIO layer when RNR or REJ's occur. Version 3.0 External would idle for 10 seconds per each RNR or REJ's, causing unwanted timeout problems.

1362   External: X.CSI finding the start of a packet is slow.

Version 3.0 External called a DosRead for every byte from the COM driver buffer when searching for a STX character. At          high speeds this meant hundreds of 1 byte DosReads creating high CPU usage. Version 3.2 of External now reads in multiple bytes into a special STX buffer greatly reducing CPU demand.

1365   External: X.CSI dumping bad packet can cause problems.

Version 3.0 of External will copy data from the protocol ring buffers (X.CSI) to the SIO layer if X.CSI becomes full. Version 3.2 External will not.

In version 3.0 of External, the CRC calculation on a data packet is performed after the data is read from SIO, therefore, it is redundant to dump the data back to the SIO layer because it already resides in a X.CSI window packet buffer. Version 3.2 of External will now drop these packets and retain optimal performance.

1420   External: Machine hangs with low disk space and expired useful life.

Version 3.0 of External will hang upon delivering an "expired          useful life message" on a PO that does not have enough diskspace. Version 3.2 of External resolves this issue by          logging the low diskspace and not attempting to deliver mail to that PO until space is available.

1645   Srvmain does not update ReqSync when DirSync .ATT is        corrupted.

If a corrupted DirSync attachment is processed by version 3.0 of SRVMAIN, it will add transactions to the queue up to the point of corruption and then terminate. However, it does not update the ReqSync field in the SRVCONF.GLB file to indicate that some transactions were processed/received. No          transactions will be lost in this scenario, but duplicate transactions will be submitted by the requestor.

Version 3.2 of SRVMAIN resolves this by taking the Reqsync number directly from the last record processed in the SRVCONF.GLB file instead of from the mail text body. If there is a CRC read error in the transaction file, all records up to          the corrupted one will be processed.

1646   External: Duplicate mail incident.

When mail is composed to multiple recipients, version 3.0 of          External would lock the mailbags for the externally defined postoffices before the Dispatch process started. The mailbag was not locked while External was collecting mail. Therefore, when multiple externals are collecting mail off the same postoffice, they both can collect the same mail item and successfully deliver it to the same recipient.

Version 3.2 of External resolves this by locking the mailbags before the collection process begins. As a result overall throughput of a multi-External hub will be faster because each external will not try and collect mail on one postoffice while another external is collecting mail on the same postoffice.

1678   External: Postoffices on dynamic drives updates lists at every -U minutes.

In version 3.2 of External, directories on dynamic drives are only updated at the interval specified by -U, if the postoffice directories have been changed since the last update. The change is detected by checking to see if the value in FLAG.GLB has changed since last update.

1775   External: Zero length attachments.

When remote users call into version 3.0 External and request headers update only when they do not have any headers, External will create a zero byte attachment and leave it          stranded when the remote user disconnects. Version 3.2 of          External resolves this by deleting the attachment file upon the disconnect.

2008   DirSync: Srvmain has problems with Intel EtherExpress 16.

With certain network cards and protocols, the SRVCONF.GLB file becomes corrupted. Version 3.2 fixes the problem by          making internal buffer size consistent across all calls to           SRVCONF.GLB.

2082   Re-enabling the DirSync Server does not work.

In version 3.2, when re-configuring or creating a postoffice to be a Dir-sync server the Admin program will now verify that the REQCONF.GLB file has a srvsync value of zero. If          Requestors do not submit an Import request to the newly enabled Server PO then they will not get updates. This is          because, each Requestor records the sync of the last update received from the Server PO. This is a non-zero value. When the Server PO is enabled, updates are numbered from 1. So, if a Requestor asks for updates from sync=100, 100 will not exist yet and that Requestor will receive zero updates.

2104   External: Does not delete .P0x files from the P1 directory.

Version 3.0 External can leave stranded .POx files.

2128   External returns valid address messages to sender.

When version 3.2 External is aware that it has corrupt routing information, it will disable Dispatch for that PO and its INQUEUE3.MBG. Mailer will still run on the destination PO, but External will hold all LAN mail until the address list is refreshed.

MAIL FOR WINDOWS CORRECTIONS
Bug #  Description -  --

1   Corruption of MMF when located on PC-NFS file server.

When running version 3.0b of Microsoft Mail for Windows on a          PC-NFS file server, the Mail Message File (MMF) becomes corrupted and prevents you from sending and reading mail messages.

2   Setup error when installing client on network server.

When setting up version 3.0b of Microsoft Mail for Windows and the WINDOWS and WINDOWS\SYSTEM directories were on two different drives, Setup would report an error and would not complete.

3   Problem with extended characters in postoffice name.

When you send mail to an external postoffice group or gateway group that contains extended characters in the address, version 3.0b of Microsoft Mail for Windows does not convert from code page 850 to ANSI code page when it reads the records from the NETPO.GLB file or any other gateway address file.

4   Convert program cannot handle lowercase HEX for owner field.

While converting your folders, version 3.0b of CONVERT.EXE may report a network error and then exit. The Convert program assumes the owner field in the .IDX file is in all uppercase letters and does not know how to handle hexadecimal numbers in          lowercase letters.

5   Sample Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows application does not work with Visual Basic version 2.0.

In version 3.2, MAPI.H has been modified to be strictly ANSI compatible, and will no longer cause warnings on Warning Level 4 with the Microsoft C version 7.0 compiler. The sample Visual Basic Simple MAPI application has been modified to          compile when using Microsoft Visual Basic version 2.0.

6   SNADS DGNs in address book are not in alphabetical order.

External postoffices, SNADS DGNs, and nodes for PROFS and OfficeVision are not displayed in alphabetic order because version 3.0b of Mail for Windows reads them in one at a          time and adds them to the hierarchy. Version 3.2 of Microsoft Mail for Windows reads them in all at once, sorts them, and adds them to the hierarchy.

7   ALT+double-click on attachment does not work.

When you attempt to launch attachments that do not have an          extension, an error occurs when you hold down the ALT key and double-click the mouse button to load the attachment into Notepad.

26   Bad algorithm for changing the filename of Macintosh file attachments.

When you attempt to launch MACBINARY attachments, version 3.0b of Mail for Windows changes the filename of the file being launched if that filename is less than eight characters in length.

69   Cannot handle more than 66 different network/gateway names.

An "Unknown user" error may occur when you send a message. Version 3.0b of Mail for Windows only caches the first 8170 bytes of the NETWORK.GLB file and loses the rest. Postoffices and gateways that are defined past 8170 bytes are ignored; therefore, you cannot send messages to the users on those postoffices or gateways.

73   MAPILogon is case sensitive.

The simple MAPI command MAPILogon does a case sensitive match on the user name and password; however, Microsoft Mail is not case sensitive. This problem only occurs if a          MAPI session was already established when MAPILogon is           called.

110   Reading E-Form from shared folder causes MAPI failure.

Fixed in version 3.2 of Microsoft Mail for Windows.

140   MAPISaveMessage resets originator to caller.

Fixed in version 3.2 of Microsoft Mail for Windows.

141   Convert changes message date to 12/16/68.

When parsing old A.M./P.M. style dates (generated from          some gateways), version 3.0b of Mail for Windows adds 12 to           the time if it is P.M. However, if the message was sent during the Noon hour, the time is incorrectly read as 24:xx. Because this is an invalid time, the date is set to the 12/16/68.

149   Group name cannot display details when a form was used.

In version 3.0b of Microsoft Mail for Windows, PC Mail groups would not be reply-able from SimpleMAPI as the address would have no email address.

161   SENDFILE does not support extended characters.

In version 3.0b of Microsoft Mail for Windows, extended characters are not supported when using the File Manager SendFile command. An error message is displayed saying that the file can not be accessed.

162   Extended characters not supported for backup.

In version 3.0b of Microsoft Mail for Windows, extended characters are not supported for *.MMF filenames.

176   GP fault when running custom setup and only installing spelling.

Fixed in version 3.2 of Microsoft Mail for Windows.

187   GP Fault when login due to corrupt .XTN file.

Version 3.0b of Microsoft Mail for Windows may cause a          general protection (GP) fault when it encounters a           corrupt .XTN file in the database. It incorrectly handles .XTN files that are an incorrect size.

Additional query words: 3.20

Keywords: KB103421

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