Exchange 2003 OWA error - 500 Internal

jbayne3

Hey All,

I just wanted to first say how great this board and website has been in my pursuit or certifications and studying. Finding this place has probably been the one most consistant resource. Thank you all for the input and posts that have helped me prepare for my exams!

I was also hoping that maybe some Exchange Guru can help me figure out a problem I am having with an Exchange environment (front end/back end configuration). I have inherted this environment, and I must say I am not the most suave admin when it comes to Exchange. All that I know has basically been self taught through tutorials and playing around with Exchange, so there is no formal training.

So here is the deal...

Everytime that a user visits the publicly facing OWA login page on the front end server, they enter their authentication credentials but are given a "HTTP 500 Internal Server Error....This website cannot be displayed" error page. OWA was working fine just last week. All other mail services are working just fine. I also get the following error message in the Event Viewer:

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Event ID: 9175 - MSExchangeSA

The MAPI call 'OpenMsgStore' failed with the following error:
The Microsoft Exchange Server computer is not available. Either there are network problems or the Microsoft Exchange Server computer is down for maintenance.
The MAPI provider failed.
Microsoft Exchange Server Information Store
ID no: 8004011d-0526-00000000

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Both Servers (front end/back end) run on Windows 2003 SP2, and Exchange 2003 Enterprise Edition SP2.

Thank You,

Jimmy

Claymoore

Did the System Attendant Service stop running on the Front-End Server?
Disabling Unnecessary Services

jbayne3

This service is enabled....all of the appropriate services are running on both servers.

Claymoore

I always suggest checking the server certificate when troubleshooting problems with OWA. Make sure the certificate is installed and has not expired. Also verify if https is required / being used when connecting to OWA.

There are many other possibilities:

Could be a problem with MAPI32.DLL. Did you or a GPO install Outlook on the server?

Could be a global catalog problem. Did you recently decommission a DC at the site?

Don't forget about name resolution - check the DNS settings.

blargoe

Front end and back end have to not only run the same SP but should really be running all the same Exchange hotfixes as well. Did an Exchange hotfix get installed on the back end that didn't get installed on the front end?

Anything else domain-wise or Exchange-wise that might have changed since last week?

That event message about the info store, if it's coming from your front end, may be a red herring if you're not really hosting a store there. some people disable the store on the front end server since they're not using it and ignore the error messages that result.

blargoe

Did you see this MSKB?

Known issues that cause the “HTTP 500 internal server error” error message in Exchange Server 2003 Outlook Web Access

jbayne3

Hey all...thanks for the comments....

I was able to get the error message fixed and the front end 'first storage group' to come back online after running eseutil and removing corrupted log files...however, the other issue still persists. I have followed a few steps in that article, but I will go back through it more thoroughly. Also, I'll apply the latest Exchange Updates as needed. My main fear is updating these servers then breaking something on them...the few servers here hold multiple roles....

Thanks,

Jimmy

jbayne3

Hey All,

After mounting the first storage group on the front-end, I eliminated the possibility of the front-end server being the issue. So late last night, I ran several updates and rebooted the back-end server. Problem solved!

Jimmy