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Can I delete a users mailbox and then create a distribution list with the same name (SBS2K3)

I am finishing an SBS 2003 installation for someone. Yikes! I am about to switch them to using the Exchange from their current POP3 accounts. They currently have 2 email addresses (email@theirdomain.com and boxoffice@theirdomain.com) that everyone needs to have access to. My original plan was to create distribution lists and have the mail archive to public folders. The problem I have run in to is they already have a user called boxoffice on the domain so I cannot create the distribution list. The user "boxoffice" does not need an email account.

Can I delete just the mailbox for user "boxoffice" and then create the distribution list as I originally intended to do? I am trying to avoid deleting the user account altogether because it will create other problems.

Thanks!

tcicatelli

Yes, you can. You can also forward the user's mail to someone else, or just rename the mailbox.

ableinc

ASKER

Thanks for the quick response!

How would I delete the mailbox? What is the best way?

tcicatelli

Go under Active Directory Users and Computers, right-click on the user, then select "Exchange Tasks" and follow the wizard.

ableinc

ASKER

Do I need to run the wizard a second time and select "Remove Exchange Attributes"?

I removed the mailbox and tried to create the distribution group but I still an error that "the group name conflicts with a user name on the network".

tcicatelli

Yes, you should remove exchange attributes.

ableinc

ASKER

I re-ran the wizard, removing Exchange attributes, and that did not resolve it. I still get the error that the distribution group name conflicts with a user name on the network.

Any other suggestions?

ableinc

ASKER

Can anyone else help me?

tcicatelli

Sorry, wasn't ignoring you; had to get a haircut:) Do you already have a security group or an OU group by the same name in the AD?

ableinc

ASKER

No. Just a user.

tcicatelli

The problem isn't with Exchange; it's with "Active Directory Users & Computers". You threw me off talking about distribution lists and mailboxes. What this really is about is AD groups and usernames. I ended up modifying the security distribution groups in my AD. For instance, I had an OU folder of "Accountant" and had to make a security group of "Accounting" to avoid the clash.

Sorry about the confusion. You can make a distribution group within your Outlook contacts with the same name, however.

-Tom

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ableinc

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