Outlook/Vista error - "OLE ... Call Failed"

[shedder]

Hi,

Think this just shades being in here rather than the Vista forum (?)

Our company has a modified CRM system which is used to manage workflow
and generate staff activity diaries within several departments. There
is a central SQL database, but part of the way it operates is by
syncing with Outlook to generate certain activity prompt emails.
When a user launches the software, one of the things it does first is
start Microsoft Outlook in the background (as a service).

I recently installed the software on a Vista box to test it. I had to
set it to run in XP compatibility mode (otherwise it doesn't launch at
all) but otherwise it seemed to work ok except for refusing to open
Outlook on launch. It comes up with 4 errors...

OLE: Get FolderInbox CALL FAILED
OLE: Get FolderDeleted CALL FAILED
OLE: Get FolderCalendar CALL FAILED
OLE: Get FolderContacts CALL FAILED

Now, the company that wrote the system and provide the support
switched to a .net version a while back. They say they don't support
the old version on Vista.

The PC has Outlook 2007 installed. We have the system running fine on
XP boxes with Outlook 2007.

My best guess is that this is either something to do with the
permissions on Vista, or it is using some kind of connection method
that has been retired/disabled/turned off in Vista.

I have tried running the CRM as administrator, and attempted to set
Outlook to run as administrator (although whether this would work when
it is launched in the way described above I have no clue). Also tried
turning off UAC completely.

None of this solved it.

Can anyone suggest other things to try because I'm pretty stuck now?
Is there any way I can get more information about the error (nothing
showing in the event log)?

thanks.

 

[Roady [MVP]]

All depends on how it was programmed and what it was programmed for. Without
knowing that we can play the guessing game till kingdom comes.

Common mistakes when trying to make Outlook run as a service is that they
forget to configure Outlook under the account which is specified to run the
service with or that the SYSTEM account is specified.

They say they don't support the old version on Vista.

They must have their reasons for that. If they did something operating
system depended, you're never going to be able to solve it. Why would you
want to run an unsupported configuration in the first place?

 

[shedder]

They must have their reasons for that. If they did something operating

system depended, you're never going to be able to solve it. Why would you
want to run an unsupported configuration in the first place?

Well, when we bought the package there was no problem. Since then they
have moved to a .net version, but we have not upgraded yet as they
basically would need to rewrite our customised system from the ground
up. The cost for doing so is prohibitive and we are looking into
alternatives. We aren't overly happy with their support in general,
although the product itself is very good.

Meanwhile, they continue to offer basic support on the old package,
but apparently not if it runs on Vista.

It seems to work ok, in XP compatibility mode, apart from this one
issue. If I can crack this, it buys us several years to plan and
implement a major system change. If not, I may need to stock up on XP
downgradable PCs while they are still available!

Is there any way I could configure event logging so that I can pick up
more detail about this kind of error?
Are there new restrictions on OLE in Vista that I might be able to get
around?

thanks

 

[shedder]

Ps. On this point...

I don't know if it goes that deep.
Their initial response amounted to "oh, must be something to do with
Outlook 2007, not supported, goodbye". I pointed out we had it working
fine with Outlook 2007 on XP and they came back with something along
the lines of "ok, must be Vista then, probably permissions, not
supported, goodbye".

 

[Roady [MVP]]

Ouch, sounds like a badly negotiated support contract then. These kind of
consequences should be taken into consideration when you go for custom
solutions. It may be a hard lesson now, but always make sure that the
knowledge and support on a custom solution remain in-company or at least
that support can be transferred to another company. This way you don't get
yourself stuck in situations like these. I've done quite some migration
projects already and interestingly enough it is always the smallest or
custom solutions that are preventing a complete migration.

Back to the technical point of the issue. If they programmed with CDO,
installing the following download might help;
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=94274318-27c4-4d8d-9bc5-3e6484286b1f

Otherwise the developers in outlook.program_addins or
outlook.program_interop might have more insights on what is causing this.

 

[shedder]

Back to the technical point of the issue. If they programmed with CDO,

installing the following download might help;http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=94274318-27c...

Ah, now I just tried this and had "Messaging API and Collaboration
Data Objects cannot be installed with Microsoft Outlook" error. Then
tried a few other things, and went back to the above error. Found that
I had to remove Outlook to install this, then reinstall Oultook....
and now it works!

So, I can't say for sure but this looks like it could be the answer.
Only way I'll find out for sure now is to try this on a clean Vista
with none of the other fixes I've tried applied.

Robert, I owe you big time. Cheers!!

 

[shedder]

Ah, now I just tried this and had "Messaging API and Collaboration
Data Objects cannot be installed with Microsoft Outlook" error. Then
tried a few other things, and went back to the above error. Found that
I had to remove Outlook to install this, then reinstall Oultook....
and now it works!

So, I can't say for sure but this looks like it could be the answer.
Only way I'll find out for sure now is to try this on a clean Vista
with none of the other fixes I've tried applied.

Robert, I owe you big time. Cheers!!

Spoke too soon. Very strange - walked away to tell a few people about
the fix, came back, had to log in again and it is back unfixed!?
Nothing changed though. Baffling.

 

[Roady [MVP]]

Did you remove all the Compatibility settings that you had configured to
make sure everything is running natively now?
For testing purposes you can also check if it runs with everything set to
run with elevated permissions. It could be that your custom app is trying to
write something to certain file or registry locations which normally are
restricted. ProcessMonitor should be able to help you determine that.