mail-enabled public folders stopped working after installing Exchange 2010 in existing Exchange 2003 or 2007 environment

I recently came across the following while performing an 2007 to Exchange 2010 for a company that still heavily utilised mail-enabled public folders. The client’s environment was quite old and had been previously migrated from Exchange 5.5 to 2003 and hadn’t been properly decommissioned with the original move to 2007, but that’s another story!

The I had was that once I moved all receive connectors to the new 2010 server, emails sent to any of the mail-enabled public folders (which were still being replicated between the servers) was being rejected with the following NDR:

#< #5.2.0 smtp;4 5.2.0 STOREDRV.Deliver.Exception:ObjectNotFoundException; Failed to process message due to a permanent exception with message The Active Directory user wasn’t found. ObjectNotFoundException: The Active Directory user wasn’t found.> #SMTP#

The following error was found in Event Viewer:

Log Name: Application
Source: MSExchange Store Driver
Date: 7/09/2010 2:00:02 AM
Event ID: 1020
Task Category: MSExchangeStoreDriver
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: server@domain
Description:
The store driver couldn’t deliver the public replication message “Folder Content (PublicFolderDatabase@domain)” because the following error occurred: The Active Directory user wasn’t found.

Solution

Given this environment was originally running versions prior to Exchange 2007, the legacy Administrative and all its empty subcontainers still existed. An explanation from the Team of why this occurs can be found here: http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2010/05/05/454821.aspx

The solution to this was to delete the empty Servers container from the legacy Administrative Group.

Using ADSIEdit.msc, connect to a domain controller and navigate to:

CN=Configuration , CN=Services, CN= Exchange, CN=[ExchangeOrganisationName], CN=Administrative Groups, CN=[LegacyAdministrativeGroupName], CN=Servers.

Right click the Servers container and select Delete

Click Yes

Restart the Active Directory Topology Service and the Microsoft Exchange Information Store on both the Exchange 2007 & Servers

Translate »
%d bloggers like this: