Can't Create New Microsoft Mail Postoffice (142638)

SUMMARY

When Windows for Workgroups 3.11 is upgraded to Windows NT Server 3.51, the Microsoft Mail dialog box that allows you to choose between connecting to an existing postoffice or creating a new one does not appear if a Workgroup postoffice (WGPO) was previously installed on the system at the time of the upgrade. The system will allow you to add and delete new users to the existing postoffice; however, the administrator cannot create a new postoffice. Searching for all Msmail.ini files and deleting them does not fix the problem, nor does deleting the existing WGPO directory structure.

If you delete the existing WGPO directory structure, you get an error message stating

The configuration for the Mail Server Path is missing or invalid.

A look at the properties for the icon in the Main group shows Msmail32.exe as the executable file.

WORKAROUND

The workaround for this situation is to delete the existing WGPO directory structure and then perform the following:

Create another user account that has Administrator privileges (copy the Admin account).
Log on to the new account.
Go to Main/NT Setup/Delete User Profiles.
Delete the Administrator's profile.
Log off.
Log on as the administrator.
Go to the Main group and double-click the Microsoft Mail icon--you should now be able to create the new postoffice.

MORE INFORMATION

The reason the administrator cannot create a new postoffice, even when the Msmail.ini file is deleted and the WGPO directory structure is removed, is because the profile for the administrator contains user-specific information about the postoffice that was on the system. Deleting the user profile for the administrator forces Windows NT to build a new one that does not contain that information.