How to use Updatefb.exe to republish absent free/busy data (294282)

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If the data in the Schedule+ Free Busy system folder is deleted (by the use of the Guidgen.exe utility or by other means), there is an unsupported utility that allows the free/busy data to quickly and automatically repopulate. This utility is used to add an appointment to the calendar of all affected users, which is the equivalent of sending an appointment by means of e-mail and having all users accept it manually.

To obtain this utility, please contact Microsoft Support.

Important Microsoft does not support this utility. The use of this utility may corrupt your free/busy information. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems caused by the utility can be fixed. Use of this tool is at your own risk. Currently two versions of this utility exists that you can obtain by contacting Microsoft Product Support Services:

• Updatefb.exe - A graphical user interface (GUI) Visual Basic version of the utility.
• CPPCDO - A command-line .cpp file version.

To obtain the two versions of the utility, contact Microsoft Product Support Services at the following Microsoft Web site: Note To use the two utilities, you must install Collaboration Data Objects (CDO) on the Exchange Server computer that runs the utilities. For the best results, run these commands from the console of the Exchange Server computer. In addition, you must log on to the Exchange Server computer by using a Microsoft Windows NT account, and you must have the permission to change each user's calendar (for example, service account). For more information about how to assign service account access in Exchange 2000 Server and in Exchange Server 2003, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Before you run either of these utilities, create a Comma Separated Value (CSV) input file that lists each user's mailbox whose free-and-busy information you want to update. In the CSV file, list the mailboxes in the following format: To run the Updatefb.exe Visual Basic (GUI) utility:

1. Double-click the Updatefb.exe file.
2. In the GUI, type the path to an input file, and then type a path to an output file.
3. Click UpdateFB, to start processing the CSV file.

Note The input file is the path to the CSV input file. The output file logs the procedures performed by the UpdateFB program as the program runs.

The CPPCDO command-line version of the program runs with the following parameters: The utility performs the following steps:

1. The utility reads the CSV file into memory.
2. The utility connects to the calendar of each mailbox listed, one at a time, in the CSV file by using MAPI and CDO.
3. The utility adds a 30 minute appointment, that has no reminder, for 11:00 P.M., today's date, to the user's calendar.
4. The utility quits the CDO and MAPI session, which forces the local free-and-busy map to be changed.
5. A message is then posted in the free-and-busy system folder that represents the user's free-and-busy time.

Note If you use Exchange 2000 Server or Exchange Server 2003 and you require an automated method to create the input file for UpdateFB, follow these steps:

1. Install Microsoft Windows 2000 Support Tools or Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Support Tools.
2. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
3. Type the following command, and then press ENTER: csvde -f updatefb.txt -d "CN=organizational unit,DC=domain name,DC=com" -r (mailnickname=*) -l mailnickname,msexchhomeservername -p subtree
   
   This command creates a three-column file with the distinguished name, mail nickname, and home server name.
4. Delete the distinguished name, and then use Microsoft Excel to remove the home server name so only the network basic input/output system (NetBIOS) name of the server remains.