Article ID: 321183 - Last Review: February 27, 2004 - Revision: 5.4

HOW TO: Troubleshoot Your SQL Mail Issue

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SUMMARY

This article describes how to properly troubleshoot a SQL Mail or SQL Agent Mail issue. Use the following sequential steps to effectively resolve your issue.

Note SQL Mail is not currently supported in Microsoft SQL Server 2000 64 bit. For more information, see the SQL Server 2000 (64-bit Edition) Books Online. However, SQL Agent Mail in SQL Server 2000 64 bit can be configured remotely by SQL Server Enterprise Manager if your client connects remotely by using SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 3.0 or later.

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Step 1

Before you take any other steps, review the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:

For additional information, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

315886 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315886/EN-US/ ) INF: Common SQL Mail Problems

263556 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/263556/EN-US/ ) INF: How to Configure SQL Mail

311231 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311231/EN-US/ ) INF: Frequently Asked Questions - SQL Server - SQL Mail

It may be possible to resolve your issue with the information that is contained in these articles.

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Step 2

If you have not resolved your issue after a complete review of the articles that are mentioned in "Step 1", you have the option to contact Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS). If you decide to contact PSS, it is important that you have the following information available before you call:

SQL Server version:

To obtain this, run the following code in Query Analyzer:
SELECT @@VERSION
Microsoft Outlook information:

Locate the version of Outlook that is installed on the computer that is running SQL Server and its configuration. To do so, start Outlook, on the Help menu, click About Microsoft Outlook. The version information is on the first line in the About Microsoft Outlook box. The configuration information, if present, is on the second line. (Configuration information is not present in all versions of Microsoft Outlook.)
Type of mail server:

Identify the type of mail server (for example: Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes, Novell GroupWise, and so on) that you are using with SQL Mail or SQL Agent Mail. You may have to ask your messaging services administrator if you do not know what type of mail server you are using.
Windows account information:

If the problem is with SQL Mail, you must provide the Windows account with which the SQL Server service starts. To obtain this information, in the SQL Server Enterprise Manager, right-click the registered SQL Server name in Enterprise Manager, and then click Properties. On the Security tab, view the information under Startup service account.

If the problem is with SQL Agent Mail, you must provide the Windows account with which the SQL Server Agent service starts. To obtain this information, in SQL Server Enterprise Manager, expand the registered SQL Server name in Enterprise Manager, and then expand the Management folder. Right-click SQL Server Agent, and then click Properties. On the General tab, view the information under Startup service account.
Mail profile information:

If the problem is with SQL Mail, you must provide the name of the mail profile that is assigned to SQL Mail. To obtain this information, expand the Support Services folder in Enterprise Manager, right-click SQL Mail, click Properties, and then view the name in the Profile name box.

If the problem is with SQL Agent Mail, you must provide the name of the mail profile that is assigned to SQL Agent Mail. To obtain this information, expand the Management folder in Enterprise Manager, right-click SQL Server Agent, click Properties, and then view the name in the Mail profile box.
The default email client:

To obtain this information, start Internet Explorer. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options. On the Programs tab, the default e-mail client is the name that appears in the E-mail box.
All mail-related error messages:

If you have any mail-related error messages, be prepared to provide PSS with the error number and the exact text of the error message. Error messages for SQL Mail may appear in the SQL Server error log file (Errorlog, Errorlog.1, Errorlog.2, and so on). Error messages for SQL Agent may appear in the Sqlagent.out log file. Check the log files for error messages before you contact PSS and have these log files ready to send if there are mail-related errors.