Knowledge Base

XADM: You May Be Unable to Send Mail to Distribution Lists After You Remove Exchange Server 5.5 from Exchange 2000 Server

Article ID: 299252

Article Last Modified on 2/27/2007

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server Standard Edition

This article was previously published under Q299252

SYMPTOMS

After you remove the last server that is running Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 from Exchange 2000 Server, you may be unable to send e-mail messages to some distribution lists (DLs). You may receive a non-delivery report (NDR) that resembles one of the following messages:

Your message did not reach some or all of the intended recipients.

Subject: Test message
Sent: June 11, 2001 1:04 P.M.

The following recipient(s) could not be reached:

Distribution list name on June 11, 2001 1:04 P.M.

The e-mail system was unable to deliver the message, but did not report a specific reason. Check the address and try again. If it still fails, contact your system administrator.

Server.corp.com #5.0.0

Your message did not reach some or all of the intended recipients.

Subject: Test message
Sent: June 11, 2001 1:04 P.M.

The following recipient(s) could not be reached:

A configuration error in the e-mail system caused the message to bounce between two servers or to be forwarded between two recipients. Contact your administrator.

Server.corp.com #5.3.5

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if the expansion server had been changed from the "any server in site" default to a specific server that is running Exchange Server 5.5. The expansion server had been set to the server that had just been removed (the server that is running Exchange Server 5.5), and the msExchExpansionServerName attribute still exists in Active Directory that points to the server that is running Exchange Server 5.5.

RESOLUTION

Because Exchange Server 5.5 has been removed, to resolve this behavior, you must manually change the msExchExpansionServerName attribute by using the ADSI Edit utility (located in Windows 2000 Support Tools).

WARNING: If you use the ADSI Edit snap-in, the LDP utility, or any other LDAP version 3 client, and you incorrectly modify the attributes of Active Directory objects, you can cause serious problems. These problems may require you to reinstall Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server, or both. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems that occur if you incorrectly modify Active Directory object attributes can be solved. Modify these attributes at your own risk.

By using ADSI Edit:

Expand your domain name, and then expand the folder for your domain (for example, dc=microsoft,dc=com).
Locate the organizational unit that contains the problem DL.
Click the DL, right-click the DL, and then click Properties.
On the Attributes tab, in the Select which properties to view section, click Both.
In the Select a property to view section, click msExchExpansionServerName.
Examine the attribute values: The attribute still points to the server that is running Exchange Server 5.5, which had been removed.
Click Clear to remove the server that is running Exchange Server 5.5.
Click Set, click Apply, and then click OK.
By default, the value for the msExchExpansionServerName attribute is supposed to be "not set".
After the replication process, verify the mail flow to the DL.

MORE INFORMATION

If you get an LDP dump of the problem DL, you may notice that the msExchExpansionServerName attribute has a value that points to the server that is running Exchange Server 5.5 that had been removed. Because this attribute, which is related to the problem DLs and to Exchange Server 5.5 that had been removed, is still in Active Directory, you may receive an NDR when you attempt to send mail to the DLs.

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

284148 XADM: How to Remove the Last Exchange Server 5.5 Computer from an Exchange 2000 Administrative Group

Additional query words: ad

Keywords: kbprb KB299252

Microsoft KB Archive/299252

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