Best 5 Methods to Troubleshoot Exchange Server is Unavailable Error

MS Outlook is a well-known and most used email client that delivers its users with numerous features and added security. With Outlook one can send and receive emails, create tasks, contacts, journals, notes, etc. Moreover, it has got a simple GUI. It is an easy-to-use application where users can create a profile based on POP and IMAP protocols.

The best thing about Outlook’s mailboxes is that they can be created in the Exchange server too. Sometimes, the server is unavailable due to connectivity problems like server downtime and an error message pops up saying the Exchange server is unavailable. But there is no need to worry as there are multiple ways to resolve this situation.  In this blog, I have mentioned all the possible ways through which you can get rid of this.

Brief of Exchange Server

In this era of advanced technology, email is one of the most popular and integral communication platforms.

And Microsoft Outlook is known to be one of the most widely demanded email client applications. It works in complete combination with the Exchange Server.

It offers excellent email-based collaborative communication by allowing users to access data suitably from anywhere. One of the smart features of Exchange Server is its Online Storage facility. With this facility, users can easily recover complete mailbox data and can share the data tool.

MS Outlook and Exchange Server

In MS Outlook, there are two types of storage files OST and PST files.  OST is used when a user is working in the offline mode and PST when working in online mode. By synchronizing mail with the Exchange Server; you can easily update all the modifications made during offline mode.

Issues arise when a user cannot connect to their Outlook account through the Exchange Server. Some of these errors can easily be resolved by restarting the software or the system; however, some cannot and require deep analysis and assistance. Let’s take a look at one such issue and its recommended solution.

Reasons for the Exchange Server is Unavailable Error

• Some issues in the connectivity of the network
• Improper setting of  Outlook account
• Failures of Network resources
• Incorrect configuration of Outlook
• Using an old version of Exchange
• When the client application is missing the default gateway configuration

Now, look at the tricks to resolve the issue Exchange server is unavailable.

Methods to Resolve the Exchange Error Server Not Available

Here are different methods that will help you to resolve the error related to the exchange server when the server is not available.

Tip 1) Check Office Outlook Files are locked

Many users normally or by mistake set their Outlook data file in read-only. Do Make sure that these files are not set to the ‘read-only’ mode.

To check this read-only mode of the file, you just check the location of the Outlook data file.

For PST go through – C: UsersAppData >Local > Microsoft Outlook
For OST go through – C: UsersAppData >Local > Microsoft Outlook

Note: This location as mentioned, however slightly differs among the different operating systems.

Tip 2) Remove Any Interference from Unwanted Applications

There are various applications that conflict with Outlook and lead to errors while connecting to the Exchange Server. Usually, anti-viruses conflict with Outlook and it generates various types of errors. However, you can resolve such types of errors by opening Outlook in safe mode.

Tip 3) Make sure MS Outlook Files Are Not Corrupt

Sometimes, the Outlook file gets corrupted after the upgrade which results in corruption. You simply need to go to the below-mentioned location;
C: Documents and SettingsApplication DataMicrosoftOutlook
Check these files – Frmcache.dat, Extend.dat, Views.dat, and Outcmd.dat and if they exist delete or rename them.

Or else you can try PST Recovery Tool. 

Tip 4) Modify the Registry

Before you Modify the registry, make sure to take a backup of the original data. As is not an easy task because sometimes modification leads to error and there might chance of corruption. It is always recommended to take a backup of original data before implementing this procedure. During the process of modifying the registry, you can append the DWORD value to the registry subkey by  just renaming it as ‘DefConnectOpts.’

Note: There are both pros and cons of the above method. Some of the limitation to performing the manual steps have been displayed below: It is a long and time-consuming method. It can take hours out of a business to reconfigure more than 500 systems in a company. Work and business both suffer. Some of the impatient users find working with a manual approach very tedious and tiring. They always look for some easy alternatives

Tip 5) OST to PST Converter Tool

It’s very common where Exchange Server goes into the dismounting stage or for Microsoft Exchange Server to be unavailable. In this case, users need to access the Exchange OST files in some other file format.

With the use of some reliable OST to PST Converter  Tool, Users can easily extract offline outlook data files easily. It will also make your OST file accessible in some reliable file format without any connection to Exchange Server.

Below, you can check the solution to some of the most common Outlook errors that you might face while using MS Outlook.

How to fix Outlook Stop Indexing and Search Result Incomplete Issue After June 2017 Updates 

11 Methods to fix “Outlook Not Responding ” Error

Easy Steps to Fix “Outlook data file cannot be accessed “