Exchange 2000 Service Pack 2 and higher come with a little-known utility called SMTPReinstall. SMTPReinstall, as the name implies, is used to reinstall the SMTP components of Exchange Server if they have been damaged or replaced, or simply need to be re-registered with the system.
There are several instances where it's useful to do this -- for instance, if you've upgraded a third-party product that requires the SMTP components to be reinstalled to work correctly, or if someone has made manual changes to the SMTP components that need to be undone.
The SMTP service is a key part of Exchange, so if it's missing or damaged, it can cause the rest of Exchange to malfunction. This goes not just for the service itself, but the bindings and registrations (in both the registry and the Exchange metabase) established by the service, which are very difficult to restore manually.
SMTPReinstall.exe is found in the folder \Server\Support\Utils\i386 on the Exchange 2000 Service Pack 2 (or later) CD. To run it, copy the SMTPReinstall.exe file to the \Exchsrvr\Bin folder on the Exchange server, and run SMTPReinstall.exe from there. Follow the prompts and reboot the computer when directed to do so.
If you are working on a machine that once hosted Exchange 5.5 and have had the SMTP service disappear before, check to make sure the Exchange 5.5 Registry key MSExchangeIMC does not exist (it's found at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Current Control SetServices\MSExchangeIMC). Delete the key if it exists, since its presence can cause the SMTP service to be spontaneously removed.
About the author: Serdar Yegulalp is editor of the Windows 2000 Power Users Newsletter and a regular contributor to SearchExchange.com.
MEMBER FEEDBACK TO THIS TIP
Does this tool work for Exchange 2003?
—Paula A.
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Does SMTPReinstall work for Small Business Server 2003?
—Anynomous
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From what I can tell, this tool is only available with Exchange 2000 (Service Pack 2 and higher). I believed at one point that it could be used with Exchange 2003, but I no longer believe this is the case.
Microsoft does not provide the tool with Exchange 2003, either alone or with Small Business Server 2003, so I don't think it could be used with either of those products.
I'm in the process of trying to find if there is an equivalent tool or procedure for use with Exchange 2003 or Small Business Server 2003, which I'll note as a separate tip.
—Serdar Yegulalp, tip author
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