Failed to update headers (IMAP)

[mcknet]

Outlook is reporting a few problems.

"Failed to update headers" is most common.

On rare occasions, "The UID of a message changed unexpectedly. This typically indicates a server bug. Your program may not function properly after this."

And, also on rare occasions, "Your server reported a UID that does not comply with the IMAP standard. This typically indicates a server bug. Your program may not function properly after this."

When these errors are reported, hundreds of them are reported. Outlook doesn't seem to handle this well. It makes you click Ok for every single one. Holding down the Enter key for a minute will eventually clear all the errors, but this really makes it frustrating for some.

Any suggestions?

[Code Crafters]

We use outlook for our own emails without a problem. The UID related errors and failure to update things usually indicates problems with file access. This could either be that the program isn't running as an administrator in the NT service options and therefore can't edit settings correctly or that the hard drive doing the accessing could actually be faulty. Another possibility is that you're running antivirus software that is intercepting and interfering with mail server traffic. You should disable any antivirus mail scanning on the mail server computer other than that done via the mail server's integrated command line antivirus scanner.

[mcknet]

I wish it was that simple...

The software was installed under the Administrator account and is run under the Administrator account.

The server it's on is running Windows Server 2003 Standard and is a file server with little activity. The drives are in a raid and aren't having any problems.

There is no antivirus software on the server itself. Its setup is very plain. The workstations and desktops have antivirus software that is managed by another server or is unmanaged. Some are using Symantec Antivirus and some are using OneCare. The antivirus software doesn't seem to make a difference.

I was hoping it was something else simple like a problem caused by the firewall, but even when computers are on the local area network using a local IP address, there's still an occasional problem. The only time traffic goes through the firewall is when someone is set up to work from home. They seem more likely to have problems.

The problems are also more common when there are large numbers of e-mails in the folder. Some people get an error once a month. Some get it every few days. Some have never seen the error.

Any other suggestions? Is there anything I can do to narrow the problem down?

[mcknet]

I just noticed I can get the error almost every time I delete messages or move messages from the inbox during a POP3 retrieval.

[Code Crafters]

If outlook tries to mark a mail for deletion (change the flags) just as its deleted by another POP3 session then this could cause the attempt to update the mail to fail. Unfortunately, this is just the effect of a multi-user on a single account scenario and is simply reflecting what is actually happening.

[mcknet]

E-mail is being added to the inbox by the POP3 retrieval, not removed. If someone deletes or moves or even opens a message while new messages are being added to the inbox using POP3 retrieval, they get an error. At least, that's what seems to be happening. I'm going to try to test this some more. I'll let you know what I find...

If outlook tries to mark a mail for deletion (change the flags) just as its deleted by another POP3 session then this could cause the attempt to update the mail to fail. Unfortunately, this is just the effect of a multi-user on a single account scenario and is simply reflecting what is actually happening.

[Code Crafters]

The error messages are indicating that the UID has changed unexpectedly and similar. This can only normally be caused by either outlook express not properly allowing for multiple connections to change the status of the Inbox or the UID actually becoming corrupt. This is held in memory and then in the personal.ini file for each user. It's possible you have hard drive access failures causing this file not to be properly updated or the information within this file being lost somehow.