"Illegal path format" error message when you change the message tracking log file path in Exchange Server 2003 (842202)

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition, when used with:
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, when used with:
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server

SYMPTOMS

When you try to change the message tracking log file path on your Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 computer, you receive the following error message:

Illegal path format.

Facility: Microsoft Exchange Management
ID no: c1034930
Microsoft Exchange Management

CAUSE

This problem may occur if you are running Exchange Server 2003 on a Microsoft Windows 2000 Server-based computer, and the new path that you specify for the message tracking log files contains any one or more of the following characters in the folder name:

The letter "ß" or the letter "ñ".
The symbol "£".
A letter that has a diacritic mark. This includes but is not limited to diacritic marks such as the following:
- An umlaut -- for example, ö.
- The cedilla (ç).
- An acute accent -- for example, é.
- A grave accent -- for example, à.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, do not use the characters that are mentioned in the "Cause" section in the folder name for the message tracking log files.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about how to change the location of the message tracking logs, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

841089 How to change the location of the message tracking logs in Exchange Server 2003

Modification Type:	Minor	Last Reviewed:	11/10/2005
Keywords:	kbnofix kbBug KB842202 kbAudITPRO