Microsoft has an unsupported virtual CD-ROM software for FREE. To download, use the link below:

Download Microsoft Virtual CD Control Panel

Readme for Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel v2.0.1.1

THIS TOOL IS UNSUPPORT BY MICROSOFT PRODUCT SUPPORT SERVICES

System Requirements
===================
- Windows XP Home or Windows XP Professional

Installation instructions
=========================
1. Copy VCdRom.sys to your %systemroot%\system32\drivers folder.
2. Execute VCdControlTool.exe
3. Click “Driver control”
4. If the “Install Driver” button is available, click it. Navigate to the %systemroot%\system32\drivers folder, select VCdRom.sys, and click Open.
5. Click “Start”
6. Click OK
7. Click “Add Drive” to add a drive to the drive list. Ensure that the drive added is not a local drive. If it is, continue to click “Add Drive” until an unused drive letter is available.
8. Select an unused drive letter from the drive list and click “Mount”.
9. Navigate to the image file, select it, and click “OK”. UNC naming conventions should not be used, however mapped network drives should be OK.

You may now use the drive letter as if it were a local CD-ROM device. When you are finished you may unmount, stop, and remove the driver from memory using the driver control.

By default, Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Out-of-Office replies to the Internet is disabled. This is done to disallow Out-of-Office auto-replies to be sent outside of the organization to prevent outsider to learn when users are out of the office.

To enable Out-Of-Office replies to the Internet:

1. On the Exchange Server machine, go to Start – Programs – Microsoft Exchange – Systems Manager.

2. Double click Global Settings, and then click Internet Message Formats.

3. In the Details pane, right-click a domain name, and then click Properties. The default SMTP domain is “*”.

4. In the Properties box, click the Advanced tab, and then click to select the Out of office responses check box. This enables Out-of-Office responses to the Internet for the selected domain.

An Exchange Mail user who has a problem establishing a connection to the server may have one or more TCP ports blocked. The blockage may be from computer or router firewall, or your Internet provider may simply blocks the ports needed by the Exchange Server such as TCP port 135. Various Internet providers, including Cox, Comcast and Verizon have blocked the port 135 at one point and they may still do.

To determine whether the TCP port is blocked, you may simply use ‘telnet’ command to test out the port. For example, if your server IP is 1.2.3.4 and the port in question is 135…

C:\>telnet 1.2.3.4 135

Connecting to 1.2.3.4…Could not open connection to the host, on port 135: Connect failed

The above message indicates that the port 135 is blocked.

Port 135 is used by Outlook to make initial contact with an Exchange Server, and if it cannot establish a connection it will return “Server Unavailable” error message. If this port is blocked, you cannot connect to the server using the traditional connection method. There are two alternative ways to solve this problem.

1. RPC over HTTP

If you can’t use port 135, the best workaround is to use Outlook 2003′s new feature, RPC-over-HTTP. RPC over HTTP (or HTTPS) uses TCP ports 80 (or 443) to make a connection to the server. Since no Internet Provider blocks ports 80 (http) and 443 (https), this option will always work. To setup RPC over HTTP, please follow the instruction provided by Microsoft or msexchange.org.

2. VPN

A second alternative is to use a VPN. A VPN setup requires a VPN server and a client, and it’s a bit more complex to setup than the option 1 (RPC-over-HTTP). A VPN establishes a connection using TCP port 1723, and requires your firewall or router support IP protocol 47 (GRE).

When Outlook or Outlook Express announce new mail audibly, they look for and play the New Mail Notification Windows system sound. To change the way new mail is announced, you have to customize this system sound.

To change the new mail sound in Outlook and Outlook Express:

• Select Control Panel from the Start menu.
• Make sure you are in Classic View.
• Double-click Sounds and Audio Devices.
• Go to the Sounds tab.
• Highlight New Mail Notification in the Program Events list.
• Select a sound from the Sounds list, or use the Browse button to find a sound not in the list.
• Click OK.

If you still cannot hear new mail announcements in Outlook Express or want no sound at all, you can disable or enable acoustic new mail notification.
To enable or disable the new mail sound in Outlook Express:

• Select Tools | Options… from the menu.
• Go to the General tab is selected.
• Make sure Play sound when new messages arrive is
• checked to enable and
• unchecked to disable
• new mail sounds.
• Click OK.