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The message store has reached its maximum size

Hello,

I have a user that is continually getting the above error msg... also, see attached pic...

Exchange Server 2003 SP2 (SBS 2003 version)...
Outlook 2003 SP3 on the client side...

I have removed the size limits... 1. For the user... 2. For the information store... 3. Have also checked AD for that user...

Please help.
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mikeada
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How big is the message store for that user?  Just to be sure, no other users are getting this message right?
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JP
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it's very possible that will work.  you might want to see how big that OST file is though.  If it's around 4Gigs and you have a FAT32 partition then you'll need to upgrade the client machine to an NTFS partition.
I think I ran into this before with our exchange server... There is an article 288283explining the issue.

You cannot synchronize Outlook completely until the .ost file size has been reduced to less than 2 GB. You can do this by moving some of the .ost file data to a .pst file, or you can delete data that you do not need from the .ost file. After you move or delete the .ost data, compact the .ost file or the .pst file before you proceed.

More info here...
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/288283

Hope this helps..

ITSP
have you definiately got SP2 for exchange installed?
have you done the documented registry changes to increase the store size
have you restarted the store service after making the reg changes.
when the IS service starts it should show the maximum store size in the event log which will confirm all of this
Look it takes time for the IS to clear the cached information..... So if you want to see immidate affect then restart the IS service.
Also if you have a PST attached check the size of it and also any folder should not be having more then 3000 items to be on the safer side.
I agree with Rancy, it could be due to information store cache. The Exchange Information Store cache of mailbox quotas and limits. By default, this cache is updated every two hours. This means If you change the the quota immediately after a cache refresh then you need to wait for two hours for next refresh to get the settings take affect. If you have changed it just 5 minutes before the cache refresh then the wait time is 5 minutes. If you need immediate affect you may have to reset the IS service.
Check this KB for details : http://support.microsoft.com/kb/327378 
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ASKER

The mailbox store is about 2.3GB.  No other users are getting this message - but no other users currently have more that 2GB of data.

I will try renaming the .OST file as suggested... I think the size of this file is right around 2GB... will Outlook just re-create this file?  Read through KB288283 - "Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 and Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 can use a new Unicode file format that can exceed this 2 GB limit."... hopefully the new .OST file will be created in the new Unicode format - not the ANSI format.

I am pretty sure that this is the issue - will report back next week with an update - thanks everyone for the help!
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Wolfcamel
Yes SP2 for Exchange is installed.
Is the registry change that you are mentioning for the max. size of the entire information store?...  Or is it for an individual mailbox?
Yes I did restart the IS service after making the changes.
Try this - Setting Mailbox Limits over 2GB
Refer the section Method #1: Adsiedit.msc - One user at a time
http://www.petri.co.il/setting_mailbox_limits_over_2gb.htm
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Subsun
The method your are mentioning here is the one that I originally tried - using Adsiedit.msc... error msg. still occurred after using this tool to set the mailbox size limit at 3GB - I think the issue is the .OST file.
If the issue is with OST then are you able to send mail from OWA?
Best way to get out of this is just take the data of the OST in PST, now if you are using Outlook 2003 SP1 or earlier then make a PST of not larger then 2GB as that can cause issues.