An Outlook user's free and busy information is published incorrectly

If an Outlook user's free and busy publishing period is set to 12 months, other users may only see 2 months of that user's data. That user's free and busy publishing period appears to be set to the default setting of 2 months, even though it is actually set to 12 months. (You can change the free and busy publishing setting by clicking Options on the Tools menu, clicking Calendar Options, and then clicking Free/Busy Options.)

When you check the settings for all of the clients that log on to this account, all of the clients are set to publish free and busy information for 12 months.

This problem persists even if the user deletes and re-creates the calendar, and then imports the calendar information again. This may appear to resolve the problem for a short time, but the problem occurs again. The problem also persists if the Exchange Server administrator deletes and re-creates the mailbox on the server.

This problem can occur if there is a message stuck in the server free and busy information.

To resolve this problem, delete the message stuck in the server free and busy information by using the GWClient utility. (The GWClient utility is in the BackOffice Resource Kit, Second Edition on the TechNet September 1999 CD-ROM)

To delete the message by using the GWClient utility:

1. Quit and log off from Outlook as the user whose free and busy information is being published incorrectly.
2. Start the GWClient utility, and then click Logon on the File menu. If you are prompted to do so, select the appropriate profile.
3. Double-click Public Folders, click NON_IPM_SUBTREE, and then click Schedule+ Free/Busy (if you receive an error message, ignore it).
4. A Free/Busy folder is displayed for every site in your organization. Match your site by comparing the 'ou=' value, and double-click on that folder.
5. In the right pane, the actual free and busy messages are displayed. Look for a message that corresponds to the user whose free and busy information is being published incorrectly by comparing the 'cn=' values in the list. After you find the message, right-click the message, and then click Delete. If there is more than one free and busy message for the user, delete both messages.
6. Log off from the GWClient utility by clicking Logoff on the File menu, clicking the appropriate profile, and then clicking Logoff. On the File menu, click Exit.
7. Log on to Outlook as the user whose free and busy information was being published incorrectly, create a test appointment, and log off from Outlook. This updates the Free/Busy folder on the server.

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