Home > Microsoft Exchange Tips > Outlook and Outlook Web Access Tips > Troubleshoot Microsoft Outlook offline address books (.OAB files) with the OABInteg tool
Exchange Tips:
EMAIL THIS
 TIPS & NEWSLETTERS TOPICS 

OUTLOOK AND OUTLOOK WEB ACCESS TIPS

Troubleshoot Microsoft Outlook offline address books (.OAB files) with the OABInteg tool


Serdar Yegulalp
06.01.2006
Rating: -4.50- (out of 5)


Exchange Server tips, tutorials and expert advice
Digg This!    StumbleUpon Toolbar StumbleUpon    Bookmark with Delicious Del.icio.us    Add to Google


Please let others know how useful this tip is via the rating scale at the end of it. Do you have a useful Exchange or Outlook tip, timesaver or workaround to share? Submit it to SearchExchange.com. If we publish it, we'll send you a nifty thank-you gift.

An offline address book, or .OAB file, is used whenever Microsoft Outlook interacts with Exchange Server in cached mode. Microsoft Outlook downloads a compressed copy of the address book from the server once per day as a way to minimize traffic to Exchange Server in the form of LDAP calls to look up addresses.

If you have problems generating or synchronizing Microsoft Outlook offline address books, you can use the OABInteg tool to troubleshoot. This free command-line utility was developed under the auspices of the GotDotNet.com Web site (home to many interesting projects for Exchange Server and other server technologies).

OABInteg connects to an Exchange public folder, reads an offline address book, and keeps a tally of everything that happens during the process to check for potential problems.

This includes rebuilding .OAB files from scratch, which is where a fair number of the problems can take place. Typically, there is so


Digg This!    StumbleUpon Toolbar StumbleUpon    Bookmark with Delicious Del.icio.us    Add to Google


RELATED CONTENT
Outlook and Outlook Web Access Tips
Troubleshoot Microsoft Outlook Web Access problems
Control Outlook 2007 in cached mode settings with group policies
Performing advanced search queries in Microsoft Outlook 2007
Group policy settings for Outlook 2007 in cached mode
Detecting update rollup and patch failures in OWA
How Windows Desktop Search works in Microsoft Outlook 2007
Troubleshoot IIS metabase corruption in Outlook Web Access
How a bare-metal restore affects Microsoft Outlook 2007 performance
Fix 'Service unavailable' errors and other common OWA login problems
Understand data file storage in Outlook 2007 Roaming and Local folders

Microsoft Exchange Server Administration Tools
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 performance tutorial
How to custom-configure a Microsoft Outlook 2007 install using OCT
Top Exchange Server performance monitoring and troubleshooting tools
Search and index Microsoft Outlook 2007 public folders
Executing an .MSP customization file in Microsoft Outlook 2007
Using the NTBackup tool for Exchange Server backup and recovery
Tools to bulk modify Active Directory users in Exchange Server 2003
Free tools keep Microsoft Outlook visible in Windows Vista
Setting up email disclaimers and signatures in Exchange Server
Tool deploys customized Microsoft Outlook 2007 configurations
Microsoft Exchange Server Administration Tools Research

LDAP
Access contacts in an LDAP or X.500 directory from OWA
How Exchange Server performs Active Directory LDAP queries
Troubleshooting Exchange replication with REPADMIN
Tool diagnoses Active Directory schema problems
Exchange Admin 101: Exchange Server communication ports
Setting age and size limits on users' Deleted Items folders
ActiveSync and front-end DNS aliases
A primer on messaging standards: NNTP, X.400 and LDAP
SMTP domain and e-mail address setup
Is Exchange listening?

RELATED GLOSSARY TERMS
Terms from Whatis.com − the technology online dictionary
Remote Installation Service  (SearchExchange.com)
TCPMAN  (SearchExchange.com)

RELATED RESOURCES
2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems
Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts
Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary


me condition on the Exchange server that causes the rebuild to fail, and is often due to an Active Directory misconfiguration.

OABInteg runs a number of different tests against both MAPI and Active Directory. For instance, one MAPI test determines whether or not the MAPISVC.INF file (which has a number of MAPI settings) has invalid attributes that might prevent an .OAB file from generating correctly.

Note that you must run the MAPI tests from a Microsoft Outlook client profile that is not in cached mode to prevent misleading results. Also, the LDAP tests can only be performed against a Global Catalog Server. Full documentation is included in a .DOC file with the OABInteg program.

About the author: Serdar Yegulalp is editor of the Windows Power Users Newsletter.

Do you have comments on this tip? Let us know.

Related information from SearchExchange.com:

  • Tip: Solving offline address book woes
  • Ask the Expert: When a new user doesn't show up in the address list
  • The Microsoft Outlook Toolbox
  • 15 tips in 15 minutes: Managing recipients and distribution lists
  • Our SearchExchange.com experts' favorite freeware
  • Toolbox for Exchange administrators

    Rate this Tip
    To rate tips, you must be a member of SearchExchange.com.
    Register now to start rating these tips. Log in if you are already a member.


    Submit a Tip




    DISCLAIMER: Our Tips Exchange is a forum for you to share technical advice and expertise with your peers and to learn from other enterprise IT professionals. TechTarget provides the infrastructure to facilitate this sharing of information. However, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or validity of the material submitted. You agree that your use of the Ask The Expert services and your reliance on any questions, answers, information or other materials received through this Web site is at your own risk.



    • Email Server Solutions: Exchange 2007, Exchange 2003, Exchange 2000, SharePoint
    HomeNewsTopicsITKnowledge ExchangeTipsAsk the ExpertsMultimediaWhite PapersIT Downloads
    About Us  |  Contact Us  |  For Advertisers  |  For Business Partners  |  Site Index  |  RSS
    SEARCH 
    TechTarget provides technology professionals with the information they need to perform their jobs - from developing strategy, to making cost-effective purchase decisions and managing their organizations' technology projects - with its network of technology-specific websites, events and online magazines.

    TechTarget Corporate Web Site  |  Media Kits  |  Site Map




    All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2004 - 2009, TechTarget | Read our Privacy Policy     		  TechTarget - The IT Media ROI Experts