Exchange Connector for Lotus Notes stops with error message: Error opening mailbox domain/server!!Exchange.bad

If you start the Microsoft Exchange Connector for Lotus Notes, the Convert and Transfer processes may be displayed as stopped in the Exchange Connectivity Administrator program.

This is because there is an absent or corrupted Exchange.bad mailbox on the Lotus Notes server. The Exchange.bad mailbox is created throughout installation of the Exchange Connector for Lotus Notes. However, in some cases the file is not created and an attempt to create the Exchange.bad mailbox may not work.

At the Lotus Notes administrator client, add a mail router mailbox for Exchange.bad to the Notes desktop:

1. On the File menu, click Database, and then click New.
2. In the Template list, click Mail Router Mailbox.
3. In the Title box, type Exchange Bad Mail to name the file.
4. In the File Name box, type exchange.bad.
5. Click OK to save the changes.
6. In the C:\Notes\Data folder, verify that the Exchange.bad file exists.
7. Restart the Exchange Connector for Lotus Notes service.

Microsoft continues to update the tools that support interoperability among Lotus Domino R5 and Lotus Domino 6, Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory. The updated tools for Lotus Domino replace the following tools that are included with Exchange Server 2003 and with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2:

• Exchange Connector for Lotus Notes
• Calendar Connector for Lotus Notes
• Migration Wizard for Lotus Notes

To obtain these tools and to obtain guidance and additional resources, visit the following Microsoft Web site: These updated tools provide additional functionality and address several issues that customers reported with earlier versions of the tools.