How to Repair Outlook Web Access (OWA) 2003

a. Download and install the IIS 6.0 Resource Kit Tools. To obtain the IIS 6.0 Resource Kit Tools, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=56FC92EE-A71A-4C73-B628-ADE 629C89499&displaylang=en

If you do not want to install all the IIS 6.0 Resource Kit Tools, click the Custom installation option to install only Metabase Explorer 1.6.
b. Start IIS Manager.
c. Back up the metabase. To do this, right-click Default Web Site, click All Tasks, and then click Save Configuration to a File. Type a file name for the file and click OK.
d. Expand Default Web Site, and then delete the following virtual directories:

• Microsoft-Server-Active-Sync
• OMA
• Exadmin
• Exchange
• Public
• ExchWeb

e. Start Metabase Explorer. To do this, click Start, point to All Programs, point to IIS Resources, point to Metabase Explorer, and then click Metabase Explorer.
f. Expand the LM key, right-click the DS2MB key, and then click Delete.
g. Close Metabase Explorer.
h. Restart the Microsoft Exchange System Attendant service to re-create the virtual directories in IIS.

Note If the virtual directories are not re-created after 15 minutes, restart the server.
i. In IIS Manager, expand Default Web Site, right-click Exchweb, and then click Properties.
j. Click the Directory Security tab, and then click Edit under Authentication and access control.
k. Verify that only the Enable anonymous access check box is selected.
l. Right-click Default Web Site, and then click Stop.
m. Right-click Default Web Site, and then click Start.

Now that is a straight copy paste from the KB Article. However.. I immediately had to wonder how the System Attendant service knew what my default website is.. or was. How does IIS flag the ‘ default website’ ?

A rummage though the IIS metabase basically shows that under the W3SVC node, the site with ID 1, is the Default Website. I made a new site, which got a unique identifier, and just renamed it to 1 in the metabase. 5 minutes later the System Attendant service had rebuild my Exchange virtual folders!