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Email messages are sent to the wrong account when multiple accounts are associated with an Outlook profile

Original KB number:   2391896

Symptoms

When you set up one or more email accounts for a profile in Microsoft Outlook, email messages that are intended for a particular account are sent to the Inbox of a different account.

This issue occurs if the .ost file that's created by Outlook Cached Exchange Mode contains a folder mapping error. Specifically, if the .ost file contains more than one MAPI mailbox, mail may be redirected to an incorrect MAPI mailbox.

Resolution

To fix this issue, follow these steps:

  1. In Outlook, drag all the incorrectly sent messages to the correct folders.

  2. Remove the secondary account to which the messages were incorrectly redirected by Outlook. To do this, follow these steps:

    1. Select Start, and then select Control Panel.
    2. On the search bar, type mail.
    3. Double-click Mail.
    4. In the Mail Setup dialog box, select E-mail Accounts.
    5. In the Account Settings dialog box, select the account that you want to remove, and then select Remove.
    6. Select Close.
  3. Exit Outlook.

  4. If you're running Outlook 2007, you can run the ScanOST.exe process against the updated .ost file to help repair any errors. For more information, see Repair Outlook Data Files (.pst and .ost).

  5. If you're running Outlook 2010, redownload the .ost file from the server.

  6. Readd the secondary MAPI account to the profile. To do this, follow these steps:

    1. Select Start, and then select Control Panel.
    2. On the search bar, type mail.
    3. Double-click Mail.
    4. In the Mail Setup dialog box, select E-mail Accounts.
    5. In the Account Settings dialog box, select New, and then follow the steps to readd the secondary account.
  7. Send a test message to confirm that the account is set up correctly.

  8. Monitor the account to confirm that the .ost file is successfully repaired.

Still need help? Go to Microsoft Community.