RESOLVED: MAPI Initialize Failed error 0x80004005 on Blackberry Enterprise or Express Server

Last night I ran Windows Update patches on my Exchange 2007 server and now BlackBerry’s can not send or receive email.  All services are running and can restart without problem.  I can log into Blackberry Admin Service without problem.

If this sounds like your problem, then you likely have the same problem I had, an old and now unsupported, CDO 1.2.1 . 

You can verify this by going to the server, logging in to Windows with the BESADMIN account, launching the Blackberry Server Configuration unility, clicking the BLACKBERRY SERVER tab and then the EDIT MAPI PROFILE tab.  If you can get in without error then CDO is not your problem.  If you get an MAPI Initialize Failed error 0x80004005 error, then CDO is likely the culpret.

You can find the version number for your CDO 1.2.1 (no 1.2.1 is not the version number), by going to PROGRAMS AND FEATURES, right clicking on any column, selecting MORE, the add VERSION.

1. Uninstall the old CDO via PROGRAMS AND FEATURES. (FYI, my old version number was 6.5.8190)
2. Reboot the server even though it does not tell you to.  Apparently this is required although I would not bet my life on it.
3. Download the latest CDO from Microsoft HERE.
4. Install the new CDO 121.  (FYI, April 2012’s current build is 6.5.8244)
5. Run the following two commands (one at a time) in a CMD window (make sure to RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR if UAC is enabled) to force the registration of the new CDO:
   regsvr32 /u “C:\Program Files (x86)\ExchangeMapi\cdo.dll”
   regsvr32 “C:\Program Files (x86)\ExchangeMapi\cdo.dll”
6. Enjoy!  Your server should be fixed.  I did not even reboot although some of the documentation said I had to.

If this does not work you likely have a real problem with CDO and you will need to do the full manual uninstall, reinstall which you can find instructions on HERE.

I alslo found THIS Blackberry article to be moderately useful.  I found FIXMAPISVC did not resolve my problem and so I called for support.  RIM explained that in fact my older version of CDO was no longer functional or supported with the latest Windows patches and if fact my suggestion to upgrade the CDO was the correct one.

I also found that if I just run the new CDO installer without uninstalling the old one, that nothing much happens even though the install completes without error.  PROGRAMS AND FEATURES shows that is it still the old version.