Repairing Your Mailbox

Periodic mailbox maintenance keeps GroupWise running smoothly. Occasionally, mailbox maintenance is required to resolve a problem with a mailbox or other GroupWise database.GroupWise client users can perform the following mailbox maintenance actions using the Repair Mailbox feature:

The mailbox maintenance actions are performed on the mailbox to which the user is currently connected, such as the Caching mailbox, the Remote mailbox, or the Archive. The Repair Mailbox function is only available in the menu if you are in Caching, Remote, or Archive mode.


About Your GroupWise Mailbox

In Online mode, your GroupWise mailbox resides in the post office to which you belong and Maintenance of your Online mailbox is performed by your GroupWise administrator. In other modes, you can perform some of your own maintenance, depending on what GroupWise client features you are using.

Archive: When you archive GroupWise items, they are stored at the location you have specified using Tools > Options > Environment > File Location. You must open your archive using File > Open Archive in order to repair your archive.

Caching Mailbox: If you are using Caching mode, your Caching mailbox is stored at the location you specified when you set up your Caching mailbox. You must be in Caching mode in order to repair your Caching mailbox.

Remote Mailbox: If you are using Remote mode, your Remote mailbox is stored in whatever location you specified when you used the Hit the Road feature in the client to create your Remote mailbox. You must be in Remote mode in order to repair your Remote mailbox.

Three databases are associated with each of these mailbox locations:

User Database: Your user database contains your client options settings, pointers to messages, personal groups, personal Address Books, and rules.

Message Database: Your message database contains your GroupWise items.

Document Database: Your document database contains any documents you are accessing from a GroupWise library.

When you are repairing a mailbox, you can choose which databases to repair, depending on the type of problem you are having with your mailbox.


Analyze/Fix Databases

The Analyze/Fix Databases action of GroupWise Mailbox Maintenance can check your mailbox for various types of problems and can repair problems that it detects.

To check and optionally repair your mailbox:

  1. Click Tools > Repair Mailbox, then click Yes.

  2. From the Action drop-down list, select Analyze/Fix Databases.

  3. Select from the following Analyze/Fix Databases options as needed:

    Structure: The structure check verifies the structural integrity of the mailbox and reports the amount of space that could be recovered if the mailbox is rebuilt.

    Index Check: If you select Structure, you can also select Index Check. You should perform an index check if you try to open a message and get a read error, or if someone sends you a message that does not appear in your mailbox, even though the sender sees a Delivered status for the message. Depending on the size of your mailbox, an index check can be time-consuming.

    Contents: A contents check verifies references to other items. For example, in your user database, a contents check verifies that all messages listed in your mailbox actually exist in your message database. In your message database, a contents check verifies that all attachments to messages in your mailbox actually exist in the attachment directories. A contents check also makes sure that your rules, distribution lists, and personal groups are valid.

    Collect Statistics: If you select Contents, you can also collect statistics during the contents check. The statistics include the number of messages and appointments in your mailbox, the amount of space consumed by your mailbox, and so on.

  4. Select Fix Problems to repair your mailbox.

    If you deselect Fix Problems, problems with your mailbox are reported but not fixed.

  5. On the Databases tab, select one or more databases to analyze and optionally fix.

    For information about the databases, see About Your GroupWise Mailbox.

  6. On the Logging tab, the Log File field shows that, by default, a file named GWCHK32.LOG will be created in the GroupWise client installation directory.

    You can specify a different filename and location. You can also select Verbose Logging to record more detailed information during the analyze/fix process.

  7. Click Run to start the Analyze/Fix Databases option.

    A progress log displays during the analyze/fix process.

    You can click Stop at any time to stop the analyze/fix process. An error code is displayed but it simply indicates that the process has been stopped.

    You can click Statistics at any time during the analyze/fix process to add interim statistical information to the log, such as how many problems have been identified and fixed so far in the process.

  8. Click Close, then click OK when the analyze/fix process is complete.

  9. Click Close to return to your GroupWise mailbox.


Structural Rebuild

The Structural Rebuild action of GroupWise Mailbox Maintenance forces a structural rebuild of a database in your mailbox regardless of whether problems with the database have been detected using the Analyze/Fix Databases action. A structural rebuild ensures that the various record containers in the database are correctly organized so that data can be successfully retrieved from them by the GroupWise client.

To perform a structural rebuild on your mailbox:

  1. Click Tools > Repair Mailbox, then click Yes.

  2. From the Action drop-down list, select Structural Rebuild.

  3. On the Databases tab, select one or more databases to rebuild.

    For information about the databases, see About Your GroupWise Mailbox.

  4. On the Logging tab, the Log File field shows that, by default, a file named GWCHK32.LOG will be created in the GroupWise client installation directory.

    You can specify a different filename and location. You can also select Verbose Logging to record more detailed information during the structural rebuild.

  5. Click Run to start the structural rebuild.

    A progress log displays during the structural rebuild.

    You can click Stop at any time to stop the rebuild. An error code is displayed but it simply indicates that the process has been stopped.

    You can click Statistics at any time during the rebuild to add interim statistical information to the log, such as how many problems have been corrected so far in the structural rebuild process.

  6. Click Close, then click OK when the structural rebuild is complete.

  7. Click Close to return to your GroupWise mailbox.