2007 - 1CAS, 1 MBX/Hub I'm not sure what caused this but our Public Folders can't be accessed from OWA anymore. Outlook works fine. When clicking on the Public Folders Tab in OWA, I get an error 'Outlook Web Access is unable to open public folders.' Internally I can open them by going directly to the link /public, and I can access folders for about a minute then I start getting a 'You do not have permssion to perform this action' each time I try to open a folder. Externally the /public link just hangs. Recent changes have been to enable Outlook Anywhere and upgrade Symantec Enterprise Vault OWA Extensions. Really need some help here. Thanks

I would try recreating your OWA public virtual directory. Remove-OwaVirtualDirectory "public (default web site)" New-OwaVirtualDirectory "public" -OwaVersion Exchange2003or2000 -VirtualDirectoryType PublicFolders -WebSiteName "Default Web Site" James Chong MCITP | EA | EMA; MCSE | M+, S+ Security+, Project+, ITIL msexchangetips.blogspot.com

Any update on the issue?Gulab | MCITP: Exchange 2010-2007 | Skype: Gulab.Mallah | Blog: www.ExchangeRanger.blogspot.com

I notice that when I click on the Public Folders tab it is always trying to go to owa/?modurl=7. Even if you use the /public link it redirects to owa/?modurl=7. So, does the public virtual folder come in to play at all? Thanks

Possibly, if access is working in Outlook then it's typically something with the virtual directory unless, you also mucked with the binary files. In either case recreating is a very quick and safe procedure. James Chong MCITP | EA | EMA; MCSE | M+, S+ Security+, Project+, ITIL msexchangetips.blogspot.com

1. Review the IIS logs from the appropriate CAS servers and determine what kind of HTTP errors are being returned when we try to hit the /public virtual directory. NOTE: Depending on the nature of the issue and the customer’s topology, you might need to also check the IIS log on the mailbox server where the public folder(s) reside as well. 2. Review the HTTPERR logs from the appropriate CAS servers to determine if there are any connection errors that look suspicious. 3. Is the /public virtual directory set to require SSL ? By default, it should be enabled (required) on the CAS server. But if the public database resides on an Exchange 2003 server you must disable the SSL requirement. If SSL is required on the Exchange 2003 mailbox server, turn this off, reset IIS, then test again. 4. Is URLScan installed on the server? Check Add/Remove programs or in IIS under the Web Sites container for any reference(s) to “URLScan”. Also consider any 3rd party applications or network hardware capable of HTTP content inspection that could be blocking some of our HTTP verbs. For more information about URLScan, see the following: Fine-tuning and known issues when you use the Urlscan utility in an Exchange 2003 environment 5. If possible, test access to another public folder database. Consider mounting and testing against a new public folder database. NOTE: Please allow enough time to replicate data to the new public folder store. How to Move Public Folder Content from one Public Folder Database to Another Public Folder Database 6. Execute a current EXBPA health check scan of the relevant Exchange servers. 7. Review the application and system event logs from the relevant servers Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

James, Thank you for the detailed answer. I don't think I should have brought the /public into the discussion. I didn't realize that /public was for legacey mailboxes of which we have none. Unless that is the folder used when you click on the Public Folder button in OWA. AS I mentioned earlier it tries to hit /?modurl=7. Any ideas?

After recreating the /public virtual directory in my lab an rebooting I get a "page not found error" when trying access the /public link.

Forget the /public thats only for legacy support which you don't need in your environment. What I would do now is compare all the settings of the OWA virtual directory with your production server and your fresh lab server. Also recreate your OWA virtual directory this time. If you're scared you can back it up prior to deleting and recreating, right click OWA, all tasks, save config file.James Chong MCITP | EA | EMA; MCSE | M+, S+ Security+, Project+, ITIL msexchangetips.blogspot.com

Found the solution. On the CAS there was a rediredt set to the /exchange folder for when they werre in a mixed 2003/2007 environment. It had been working until Outlook Anywhere was enabled, then it qiut. I chanegd the redirect to /owa and it all seems to work now. I really appreciate the help you gave. Thanks