PC Adm: Troubleshooting Notice 40 Error Messages (114395)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Mail for PC Networks 3.0
  • Microsoft Mail for PC Networks 3.0b
  • Microsoft Mail for PC Networks 3.2

This article was previously published under Q114395
You may receive Notice 40 error messages while performing a variety of Microsoft Mail administrative tasks, most commonly when adding or removing users. The Notice 40 message is difficult to troubleshoot because it can be caused by several different problems ranging from corrupted files to network incompatibility issues. In the section below, "Troubleshooting Notice 40 Error Messages," many possible causes and workarounds are listed.

TROUBLESHOOTING NOTICE 40 ERROR MESSAGES

You may receive a Notice 40 error message when you import or export address lists. The actual text of the Notice 40 message may be different, depending on what administrative task has failed. For example, when you add a new user, this text follows the Notice 40 error:
Error in sending updated users and groups
If you get a Notice 40 error after attempting to delete a user, this text follows:
Deletion failed, messages queued to MTA
The following list contains possible causes and resolutions for Notice 40 error messages. The list is organized roughly by probability: the most common causes of this error are listed first.

Problems Accessing the REQTRANS.GLB File

Problems accessing the REQTRANS.GLB file occur only if the user you are adding or removing, or the postoffice you are working with, are taking part in directory synchronization (Dir-Sync). Before troubleshooting any further, try adding a new mail account without choosing to include the user in Dir-Sync. If the Notice 40 error still occurs, troubleshoot the problem further, using one of the sections below.

If the Notice 40 error seems to be related to Dir-Synch, the Mail Administrator program is likely having problems opening and modifying the REQTRANS.GLB file. This file stores the changes to the Postoffice Address List.

Because of a network issue, the Mail Administrator program may not be able to access the REQTRANS.GLB file. In general, network rights problems anywhere in the postoffice can cause Notice 40 errors. (See the Postoffice Directory or File Problems section below.) One specific case involves LAN Manager for UNIX. This problem has been attributed to version 2.1a of NCR's LAN Manager for UNIX. There is a patch available from NCR called "Microsoft Mail Notice-40 Patch." If you are running LAN Manager for UNIX, regardless of the hardware platform, it may be helpful to contact your hardware vendor to see if they are aware of this problem.

NOTE: As a temporary resolution to this problem, you can disable all Dir- Sync. You can update Postoffice Address Lists manually until you solve the problem by using the External Mail program. However, the External Mail program does not respect the Dir-Sync flag, so groups and users who are not set up for Dir-Sync will be sent to other postoffices.

Low Conventional Memory

You may be able to avoid Notice 40 errors by increasing the amount of conventional memory available to the Mail Administrator program. Try loading fewer terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) programs and drivers in your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. If you are running the Mail Administrator program from an MS-DOS command prompt under the Microsoft Windows operating system, try running it before starting Windows.

Postoffice Directory or File Problems

Notice 40 errors can be caused if any of the following are true about your postoffice files and directory structure:
  • There are not enough network rights or permissions on the directory structure or its files. You should have full access to all the directories and files in the postoffice. If it is feasible, you can test for network rights problems by moving the postoffice directory structure to a local hard disk drive. If the problem recurs, you'll know it had nothing to do with network rights.

    NOTE: If you do move the postoffice, make sure you use the XCOPY command (with the /S, /V, and /E parameters) because many of the directories and files are empty but still need to exit for the postoffice to function correctly.
  • There are missing postoffice directories. There are 19 subdirectories in the postoffice; they all need to exist even if they are empty. You can re-create the full postoffice directory structure by running Setup and choosing the Update an Existing Postoffice option. When asked if you want to update the database, choose Yes.
  • There are missing MAI postoffice directories. When you create a new user in Admin, one of the processes is to send that new user a welcome message. This welcome message is created as a .MAI file and put into the appropriate directory under the MAI directory. The MAI directory contains 16 subdirectories. If the Notice 40 is occurring with EVERY new user being created, then it is possible that none of these directories exist. If the Notice 40 occurs randomly, then it is possible that only one of the MAI subdirectories is missing.


  • The Access files are corrupted. To check this, divide each Access file size by its associated record size:
          File          Record Size
          -------------------------
          ACCESS.GLB       586
          ACCESS2.GLB       69
          ACCESS3.GLB      512

Software Version Incongruities

Notice 40 error messages can be caused by running different versions of the Mail software (for example, if you are running version 3.0 of the Mail Administrator program on a version 2.1 postoffice).

Corrupted NME Files

Notice 40 error messages may appear if either the ADMIN.NME or ADMINSHD.NME file is corrupted. If you suspect this to be true, make a backup copy of each of these files and then copy ADMIN.NME over ADMINSHD.NME.

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/29/1999
Keywords:KB114395