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Xisiqomelir · Oct 8, 2007, 10:42 AM

Hi everyone. I just started work at a Windows shop, but they were fine with letting me keep my Powerbook instead of being stuck with a Latitude. I got on the internet fine, and setting up my network printer was pretty easy, but I'm having a little trouble with Active Directory and Exchange.

I'm sitting next to someone with Admin rights to the Windows server, so I can check/change things pretty easily if I have to. My Powerbook is on 10.4.10, and the company is using Windows Server 2003.

Active Directory: I think I'm setting the options in Directory Access on my Mac wrong. I copied the forest and domain from my neighbour's computer, and I'm using the right Domain Controller, but when I click on the network all the servers are greyed out and I can't connect to them, and my neighbour can't either, not even with his admin pword.

Exchange: I downloaded Thunderbird because I didn't want to mix mailboxes in Mail, but I can't connect to the exchange server. When we look at my user account on Active Directory's "users and computers" tool, my account has OWA, POP and IMAP all enabled, but I can't use any of those protocols, not in Tbird or Mail.

besson3c · Oct 8, 2007, 11:36 AM

What happens when you try to connect to your Exchange account via a mail client? Is it an authentication problem, or are these services simply not responding, or something else?

Xisiqomelir · 12:25 PM

I get this error message:

The server error encountered was: The server "mail.xxx.com" refused to allow a connection on port 993.

I know the account works because I can log in and get my mail with Outlook on the desktop they assigned me.

EDIT: I know the server is actually there because it returns pings

besson3c · Oct 8, 2007, 12:27 PM

Can you do this in your terminal?

telnet mail.xxx.com 993

If you can't get a connection to the IMAP server this way, the problem is not with your Mac, but with their setup and/or nework blocking ports.

Xisiqomelir · Oct 8, 2007, 12:42 PM

Can't telnet to it. What should I check on the server?

Thanks for helping, btw!

besson3c · Oct 8, 2007, 12:44 PM

Try doing the exact same thing on the server. If you can do it there, this means that the ports are being blocked... Is the server behind a software or hardware firewall (which would include a router)?

besson3c · Oct 8, 2007, 12:47 PM

Just so you know, a successful connection to an IMAP server should look like the following:

$ telnet mail.mac.com 993
Trying 17.250.248.152...
Connected to mail.mac.com.
Escape character is '^]'.

If you get this far, you can have an interactive session with the IMAP server where you send it commands and basically mimic the interaction that takes place between the server and any IMAP client. However, we don't even need to delve in this far yet, if you aren't getting connected to the server then your hands are tied.

Xisiqomelir · 01:08 PM

Used Remote Desktop to get onto the server, then tried a telnet to mail.xxx.com 993, and it failed. I tried ports 102 and 23 as well, and they both failed.

The server is firewalled.

Scarpa · Oct 8, 2007, 01:28 PM

It sounds like the IMAP and/or POP services are not running on the Exchange server.

Using the Exchange System Manager, drill down to the protocol section under your server and see if the POP3 and IMAP4 protocols are running.

Xisiqomelir · Oct 8, 2007, 01:51 PM

Yup, IMAP is off. When we try to activate it Exchange System Manager hangs. POP is running (but I still can't connect).

besson3c · Oct 8, 2007, 01:54 PM

POP3 uses ports 110 for the non-secure service, and 995 for the secure service. I would not recommend using POP3 with Exchange though, it detracts from the whole Groupware focus of Exchange to begin with.

Xisiqomelir · Oct 8, 2007, 02:05 PM

Okay, so I can telnet into the POP server, but when I do USER <me>;PASS <pword> I get

-ERR Logon failure: unknown user name or bad password.

But I'm pretty sure that <me> and <pword> are good, because that's what I use to logon to the desktop.

Xisiqomelir · Oct 8, 2007, 02:38 PM

Okay, we tried activating the account of someone who just left the company, and then I entered his settings into Thunderbird and Mail as POP, and they both worked to get his mail.

I tried changing my password in Active Directory, logged on/off, and I still can't get my own mail with the new pword or the old one :/

besson3c · Oct 8, 2007, 02:41 PM

Not to sound like a jerk, but these are Exchange problems, not Mac, or even Windows client problems... Your server admin will need to fix these things for you. He or she would probably fare better getting Exchange server support from a different forum.

Xisiqomelir · Oct 8, 2007, 03:05 PM

Originally Posted by besson3c

Not to sound like a jerk, but these are Exchange problems, not Mac, or even Windows client problems... Your server admin will need to fix these things for you. He or she would probably fare better getting Exchange server support from a different forum.

Not at all, you've helped me out a lot.

ghporter · Oct 8, 2007, 05:03 PM

I'm going out on a limb, but I'll bet your Exchange account has been (to use a technical term) goobered up. Can you get the Exchange admin to reset your account for you? Can you get the admin to examine whether or not Exchange believes your username is correct?