XADM: Mail-Enabled Alternate Recipient Prevents You from Logging On to the Mailbox

If you have an alternate recipient set to a mail-enabled user, you may receive the following error message when you attempt to log on to the Exchange 2000 Server mailbox:

This problem can occur because the object class of a mail-enabled user is "user." When you log on, if the object class of an alternate recipient is "user," the information store attempts to retrieve the mailboxguid attribute. Because the alternate recipient object is not mailbox enabled, the alternate recipient object does not have a mailboxguid attribute, and the information store generates the error message in the "Symptoms" section of this article.

To work around this problem, set the alternate recipient to be a contact or a mailbox-enabled user.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server.

To determine a user's alternate recipient:

1. Start the Active Directory Users and Computers Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in; click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.
2. Locate the user account, and then double-click the object to open the object properties.
3. Click the Exchange General tab, and then click Delivery Options.
4. The alternate recipient is displayed under Forwarding address.

For additional information about contacts, mail-enabled users, and mailbox-enabled users, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: