OL keeps trying to use old mail server for address lookups.

[Mark Walsh]

We have recently upgraded to Exchange2003 from
Exchang5.5. Actually, upgrade is the wrong word. We
installed a new Exchange2003 server and turned off the
old Exchange5.5 server.

I have set OutlookXP to use the new mail server (which
has a new name on the network) and it is working fine for
sending and receiving mail.

But, if you enter a name rather than an email address in
the To: section, outlook trys to lookup the name in the
old mail server (called MAILSVR) instead of the new mail
server (called MAIL). After it times out looking for the
old mail server, it than looks up the new mail server and
works fine.

What I can't figure out is how Outlook still knows about
the old mail server. It is doing this for all 47 copies
of Outlook we run. When I set them up, I deleted the
Exchange account (via the mail icon in Controll Panel)
and then added in a new Exchange account using the name
of the new mail server.

And yet it continues to try and use both the old and new
mail servers. If you try and intentionally do this,
Outlook says you can't use more than one exchange server,
and yet when you don't want it to, it will gladly try and
use two exchange servers. DOH!

So, does anyone know where Outlook has kept the
information about the old mail server, and how do I
remove this info? Else, how do I get outlook to stop
trying to use the old mail server and just use the new
one?

 

[Sue]

How, exactly, did you install the new 2003 server? Did
you join the existing 5.5 site and migrate your users?
Create a new site and "forklift" the user base over to the
new server?

 

[Mark Walsh]

I setup a new computer, installed the OS and joined the
domain, installed Exchange2003 and joined the existing
site. Then used the Migration Wizard to move the users
mail boxes to the new server.

For each user, I used the mail icon in control panel to
remove the old Exchange Server and then added the new
exchange server using the new mail servers name.

I have updated the DNS MX record to point to the new mail
server as well.

Workstations are WindowsXP with OfficeXP.

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

I setup a new computer, installed the OS and joined the
domain, installed Exchange2003 and joined the existing
site. Then used the Migration Wizard to move the users
mail boxes to the new server.

For each user, I used the mail icon in control panel to
remove the old Exchange Server and then added the new
exchange server using the new mail servers name.

Did you delete the old profile & create a new one?

Did you replicate your public folders? Remove the old server from the PF
replication after replication was complete?

If you leave the old Exchange server up and running, and use the move
mailbox method, the profiles should automagically find the new server, for
what it's worth.

I have updated the DNS MX record to point to the new mail
server as well.

Not relevent for Outlook connectivity to the mailbox

 

[Guest]

It was the Outlook profiles. I had just changed the
profile to use the new mail server. I figured if they
have a change button, then you can change things. Seems
you can't. You have to delete the profile then create a
new one.

I did move the Public Folders, they worked ok.

The profiles did automagicly find the new mail server,
but they also kept trying to use the address books on the
old server first, would time out, then use the new
servers which would work fine.

Deleting and creating the Outlook profile has fixed this
though.

I would have thought that if you created a new exchange
connector for a profile, that it would only know about
the exchange server that you enter. Why would it also
remember the details of the previous settings and try to
use those as well? Where does it even keep these
details?

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

It was the Outlook profiles. I had just changed the
profile to use the new mail server. I figured if they
have a change button, then you can change things. Seems
you can't. You have to delete the profile then create a
new one.

I did move the Public Folders, they worked ok.

The profiles did automagicly find the new mail server,
but they also kept trying to use the address books on the
old server first, would time out, then use the new
servers which would work fine.

Deleting and creating the Outlook profile has fixed this
though.

I would have thought that if you created a new exchange
connector for a profile, that it would only know about
the exchange server that you enter. Why would it also
remember the details of the previous settings and try to
use those as well? Where does it even keep these
details?

Profiles are weird sometimes. Like I said, if the old server is up and
running when the users connect the first time after the mailbox move, you
rarely need to do anything at all with them.