Cannot download GAL in Outlook 2010

[techbeck]

Problems

Users, new or old, cannot download the GAL.  Outlooked 2007, no problems.  Just Outlook 2010.  Fresh laptop image, new Windows Profile, new Outlook profile.  We used cached mode and this only happens in cached mode.  Turn off Cached mode, you can see the GAL.

Workaround

Start Outlook and close after it fully loads
Exit Outlook and create new profile with the exact settings
Load Outlook and GAL is listed and populate.

Troubleshooting

Tried created a new exchange account on Exchange 2003 and 2010.

Tried placing the user account in an OU that has no policies defined.

Tried clean install without custom MSP file.

Tried several different user accounts.


So not really sure what is going on here.  It has something to do with Outlook 2010 but not sure what.  And it is odd that if I create a new Outlook profile, it works.  When Office is installed, it creates a new profile so it is odd that you have to create a new one right away.

 

[sc302 Veteran]

First off, if you are expecting an instant change to the GAL you aren't going to get it.  It takes 1-2 days for changes to reach the client unless they are not using cached exchange mode.  First it takes about 1 day to replication to the offline address book in exchange (sometime around 4am), then the next time the client updates the offline address book it will get the change (usually another day, or the first time the client logs in for the day). 

 

If you want to force the address book replication and force a local change do the following:

 

On the exchange server

Get-GlobalAddressList | update-GlobalAdressList

Get-AddressList | update-AddressList

Get-OfflineAddressBook | Update-OfflineAddressBook

 

Then on the local client, go to send and receive and download the latest address book from exchange.

http://help.unc.edu/help/exchange-how-to-update-the-global-address-book-in-outlook/

 

 

If this is not the issue you should see something in the eventlog of either the exchange server or the client. 

 

 

 

 

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/841273

Q5: How frequently is the offline address book updated on the Outlook client?

A5: If left constantly running, Outlook in cached mode automatically updates the offline address book on the client every 24 hours. The 24-hour time period is measured from the time that the offline address book was last downloaded successfully. For example, if you complete an offline address book download at 09:00 today, Outlook will start the offline address book download the next day at approximately 09:00. Therefore, different people will receive updates at different, random times.

Note The default setting on the Exchange computer is to generate an offline address book differential file every morning at 04:00. For a change that is made in Active Directory to reach the client computer, the following events must occur:

• The change must be picked up by the Exchange computer that generates the offline address book files. This can take several hours. At worst, it can take 24 hours. This variable will be referred to as "x."
• The Outlook clients must download the offline address book updates every 24 hours. This update can take several hours. At worst, it can take 24 hours. This variable will be referred to as "y."

The update reaches the client machines x+y hours later. It would be rare for a client to ever experience a 48-hour delay or more unless there were some Active Directory or public folder replication issues.

[sc302 Veteran]

sorry forgot one more cmdlet needed on the exchange server, this is done after the other 3...

 

Get-ClientAccessServer | Update-FileDistributionService -Type "OAB"

[techbeck]

sorry forgot one more cmdlet needed on the exchange server, this is done after the other 3...

 

Get-ClientAccessServer | Update-FileDistributionService -Type "OAB"

 

Thanks, I actually figured this out but forgot to reply here...Long story short, I had to tweak my MSP a little and now all is well.

First off, if you are expecting an instant change to the GAL you aren't going to get it. It takes 1-2 days for changes to reach the client unless they are not using cached exchange mode. First it takes about 1 day to replication to the offline address book in exchange (sometime around 4am), then the next time the client updates the offline address book it will get the change (usually another day, or the first time the client logs in for the day).

I was not expecting instant changes. Problem was, there was no entry for a GAL or anything when running Outlook until you deleted/recreated the profile. When I tried to DL the address book, I got an unknown error that told me nothing about my problem. Nothing in the event log either. So I had to do things by trial/error as I found little to no info online about this problem either.