Troubleshoot Calendar and Reminder Issues with Outlook Clients

There are still issues with calendars in Outlook. Although with Exchange 2003 and Office 2003 there are less issues, some problems seem to appear out of nowhere.

Usually the folowing problems exists:

  • No reminders appear
  • At startup of Outlook an error is generated, but you can view your mailbox incl. the calendar:
    • Cannot start the reminder service. Unable to show reminders. The Reminders folder could not be found. You do not have sufficient permission to perform this operation on this object. See the folder contact or your system administrator.
  • Editing Outlook items results in error :
    • Can’t open this item. The object could not be found
  • You get the error :
    • The Calendar folder could not be found
  • You get the error :
    • Unable to load free/busy information

The first 2 steps in solving these problems can be as follows:

Close Outlook (make sure it’s not running)
Then start Outlook with one of these parameters:

Outlook.exe /cleanfreebusy

This parameter will clean and regenerate free/busy information

Outlook.exe /cleanreminders

This parameter will clean and regenerate reminders.

If this doesn’t solve the issue, you can try the following:

Close Outlook
Search on the drives for the file : FRMCACHE.DAT (a hidden file)
Delete the file
Restart Outlook

Outlook will create a new FRMCACHE.DAT file. This file stores custom forms on your local hard disk.

If  that’s not working, try the following:

Note 1: Be carefull when removing folders this way, make sure you have a good backup.
Note 2: If you have a handheld that uses ActiveSync, remove it from its cradle

First export the Calendar to a .PST file.
Start the exchng32.exe client.
Delete the Calendar from the Mailbox
Close the exchng32.exe client
Start Outlook as follows:

Outlook.exe /resetfolders

This will restore missing folders for the default delivery location.
Close Outlook
Start Outlook again with :

Outlook.exe /cleanfreebusy

Note: If you have a handheld that uses ActiveSync, you may place it back in its cradle.

Where can I find exchng32.exe?

This client was shipped with Exchange 4.0 through 5.0 and Windows NT 4.0.

Other Outlook startup options

/Cleanfinders

Removes saved searches from the Exchange Server store

/CleanViews

Restores default views

/CheckClient

Prompt for default manager of e-mail, news, and contacts

/Recycle

Starts Outlook using an existing Outlook window,if one exists.

/ResetOutlookBar

Rebuilds the Outlook Bar

/Safe

Launches Outlook without extensions, preview pane or toolbar customization

/Sniff

Launches Outlook and forces a detection of new meeting requests in the Inbox and adds them to the calendar.

For more info:
XCLN: How to Troubleshoot Reminders and Free/Busy Issues by Using the Exchange 32-Bit Client
OL2000: Error Message “Unable to load free/busy information.”
XCLN: Reminders for Appointments Do Not Appear

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