KnowledgeBase Archive

An Archive of Early Microsoft KnowledgeBase Articles

View on GitHub

Q161937: XCON: IMC Stops Processing Mail on Alpha Platform

Article: Q161937
Product(s): Microsoft Exchange
Version(s): winnt:4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbusage
Last Modified: 12-APR-1999

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Exchange Server, version 4.0 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SYMPTOMS
========

The Internet Mail Connector (IMC) stops processing outbound messages. If the IMC
is not running, any attempts to start the IMC fail with an event 10.67. No other
events are logged. DEC Alpha platforms seem to be susceptible to this problem.
Use of Mdbvu32 will show messages sitting in the MTS-OUT folder.

CAUSE
=====

The attachment to the message has been corrupted at some point. The
PR_ATTACHMENT_ENCODING is obtained from the Winmail.dat because the message was
sent in TNEF but the actual attachment consists of only the data fork because
the resource fork has been stripped. Imail processes the attachment as
MAC_BINARY and reads the first 128 bytes of the header and incorrectly
determines the filename length. The erroneous filename length leads to
corruption of memory and an eventual crash of the IMC.

WORKAROUND
==========

To work around this problem, do one of the following:

- Use the resource kit utility Imcsave to remove the messages and save the
  contents of the MTS-OUT folder.

  -or-

- Use Mdbvu32 to copy messages out of the MTS-OUT folder. Remove the first
  message and try to start the IMC.

In both cases, the IMC should work once the problem message has been removed.

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange version 4.00.
This problem was corrected in the latest Microsoft Exchange 4.0 U.S. Service
Pack. For information on obtaining the service pack, query on the following word
in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

  S E R V P A C K


MORE INFORMATION
================

DEC Alpha platforms are manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation, a vendor
independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding
this product's performance or reliability.

Additional query words: SMTP

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbusage 
Technology        : kbExchangeSearch kbExchange400 kbZNotKeyword2
Version           : winnt:4.0
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbfix

=============================================================================

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.