Unable to delete archived messages

[DaveW]

Hi All,

I have a company wide issue where users are unable to delete archived messages from their Outlook client. It suddenly started occurring after a server reboot and I have run out of ideas. I've searched these forums and Google but no to no avail.

For the record:
I'm running EV 8 SP1 on Win2008
Users are using a combination of Outlook 2003 & 2007.
We can delete from OWA
Have cleared the backup mode
Have reset IIS
Tried rebooting again!

Any assistance greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Dave

[JesusWept3]

What exactly happens when you try to delete?
normally it should tell you there was an error when attempting to delete an item then ask if you want to delete the shortcut anyway

do other EV Operations work in the client as well?

obvious checks are making sure that the policy is not set to do soft deletes and that its set to delete both or ask user, as this policy will be different than whats in OWA as well

other than that i've also seen where the site name was not resolvable via the client machines and so certain operations didn't work

[DaveW]

I get the following when trying to delete:  "Unable to delete the archived Item. Access Denied. Do you want to delete just the shortcut." All other EV operations work fine. It is just deleting.

I have checked the site policy & reset the password. Also checked to ensure it deletes both.

We do not use Centera Storage, we use HP Storage (NTFS).

Any other ideas to try?

Thanx

Dave

[GregRountree]

Cannot delete items from Centera without retention turned on.  This is fixed in SP3

[GregRountree]

First check the Retention Category to make sure you can delete items. Then check the Desktop Policy under the Options\Shortcut Deletion to "Both Deleted'. After that check the site setting under the Archive Tab. Check off "Users can delete items from their archives"

Hope this helps.

[LanceChase]

How did you restart IIS? Did you run iisreset from the command prompt?

When we got that error that is what fixed it for us.

[DaveW]

I've already checked the retetion category and that's all good along with the desktop policy as well as the Site settings.

I restarted IIS from the cmd prompt but that didin't help either.

I have now logged a call with Symantec Support. Hopefully they will be able to rectify. I'll post the results.

[JesusWept3]

i'm putting money on name resolution (namely site alias)

[DaveW]

That would be a fair bet but I don't believe it is the cause as I can ping both EV server & alias. All other EV functionality works just fine..... (Still having issues with Vault Cache *Grumble*)

[JesusWept3]

are the ones that are failing to delete using vault cache?
try disabling that first as i can imagine that will cause an issue

[DaveW]

I like your thinking but the issue is company wide and we have not rolled out Vault Cache to all the users.

[Contonso]

Hi Dave,

here are some things what I would check as well. 

-check event log
-try to delete from Archive Explorer
-Re-synch all the mailboxes
-check HDD if it's full, damage, try to create a folder or a file on that drive where storage is located.
-check vault storage settings

BR

[DaveW · Accepted solution]

Hi Guys,

Thought I'd update the call with the actual resolution. This is going to sound bizarre, but it actually rectified the problem.

With the help of Symantec, checked the usual suspect areas.

Asked me to delete archived message then checked the logs on both my PC & the EV server. Found an access denied message specific for my vault. It seems my admin account was trying to delete the message, even though I was logged in with my "everyday" domain user account. So we added my Admin account to the permission on my personal vault. Synced my mailbox and all of a sudden I could delete archived messages.

The spooky part is after I let a company wide synchronise happen over night, all of the users who were experiencing the issue could suddenly delete archived messages! Weird!

Before anyone pipes up and says you obviously had the vault permissions set incorrectly, WRONG! My admin account does not have any rights on the EV server at all. We have a seperate EV service account that is used and access to personal vaults is 99.9% locked down to the individual.

There you have it. Scrutinise the logs and you usually find the answer.....

Thanx to Symantec Technical Support in Oz for their great work!

Cheers,

Dave