An e-mail message is not delivered and an event ID 210 "content conversion failed" warning message is logged for the MTA in Exchange Server 2003 (834570)

SYMPTOMS

Some e-mail messages on your computer that is running Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 may not be delivered, and the sender may receive a non-delivery report (NDR) that is similar to the following: The following recipient(s) could not be reached:
<User_Name> on <Date_and_Time>
A syntax error was detected in the content of the message The MTS-ID of the original message is:
c=US;a=xyz;l=SERVER1-030403142356Z-6678 MSEXCH:MSExchangeMTA:Site:Server When this problem occurs, events that are similar to the following may be logged in the event log on the Exchange server: Event ID: 210
Source: MSExchangeMTA
Type: Warning
Description: An internal MTA error occurred. Content conversion for message <message> failed.

CAUSE

This problem may occur if the message contains incorrectly formatted Microsoft Database Format (MDBEF) encoding. This problem occurs when the MDBEF encoding contains MAPI properties that do not belong in the contexts that they are used in.

This problem occurs if either one of the following conditions is true:

The MDBEF encoding contains the PR_NORMALIZED_SUBJECT MAPI property in a recipient context.
The MDBEF encoding contains the PR_EMAIL_ADDRESS MAPI property in a non-recipient context.

RESOLUTION

Software update information

A supported software update is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This software update may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 service pack that contains this software update.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the software update. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;[LN];CNTACTMS

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

Prerequisites

You must have Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 installed to apply this software update.

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart your computer after you apply this software update.

Software update replacement information

This software update does not replace any other software updates.

File information

The English version of this software update has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

   Date         Time   Version      Size       File name
   ------------------------------------------------------
   07-Feb-2004  01:41  6.5.6980.68  3,585,536  Emsmta.exe

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about the terminology that is used to describe Microsoft product updates, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

824684 Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

817903 XADM: New naming schema for Exchange Server software update packages