The System Attendant service stops responding, and users cannot log on to an Exchange Server 2003 computer

The System Attendant service in Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 stops responding. Users cannot log on to the Exchange Server 2003 computer to access e-mail until the System Attendant service is restarted. You have to manually restart the System Attendant service.

This problem may occur when the Recipient Update Service times out while it waits for a response from a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) session with the Active Directory directory service.

When Active Directory disconnects the LDAP session, the Recipient Update Service does not receive any data or any LDAP errors from the LDAP session that was disconnected. Therefore, the Recipient Update Service continues to retry the LDAP connection until it receives data or an LDAP error. When the Recipient Update Service does this, the System Attendant service may stop responding.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

This hotfix requires Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 1.

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart your computer after you install this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other software updates.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel. To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Exchange Server 2003. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: