My boss had a new phone line put in which disabled our voicemail system. Before spending a buttload of money to fix it, he gave me the manual to see what I could do. I've discovered nothing was deleted. All the voicemail boxes are still set to the proper extensions and our company greeting is still saved in the system.

At first, the general mailbox would pick up which made our clients very upset. I managed to get the automated attendant where they could search the company directory for their destination but I cannot figure out how exactly to restore the original saved greeting we had. I can find it just fine but I do not know how to set it so it picks up when nobody here answers.

I've tried reading some of the posts but could not find what I was looking for. If anybody could please help me it would be greatly appreciated!!!

get an installer, unless you are well versed in the nortel voice mail systems you stand a better chance at messing things up than fixing this.

It would really help to know what type of Nortel system and voice mail system you have...any documentation or description you could provide would help us help you....but in the end it would likely be easier for you to get a tech to help you, plus the problem would be fixed by now.

An hour or so and a tech could likely fix this, unless there is more to it than what we know from your post. If a tech had added the line in the first place none of your clients would have been upset.......and you are likely loosing more money by not having the system work properly than it would cost to have a tech fix/install this...but that is a value decision your boss has to make.

Steve

Ok well the original tech who installed these phones had them together on a clip or something? So the new tech had to run a new line because the line couldn't hold the phone load with it clipped that way. So he did and everything works fine. Just a setting was disengaged on the voicemail system that would make the default greeting answer automatically when clients call. Nothing has been erased or anything.

The new tech was actually my dad! I didn't inform him of the voicemail system so he never checked it since it was a quick favor for my boss. He is unable to come back here for a while and there is no point if its clearly just a setting that needs to be set. The phone system is a Nortel T7316.

If anybody knows how to just reactivate a greeting that already exists in the system then please let me know. The book only explains how to record a new greeting but I'm trying to just work with what we already have. I've listened to it so I know its still on here and I know how to get to it...just not how to save it as my default.

Smespinosa,
In your VM you have to set up that line to be picked up after number of rings that allows live person to answer and the right Greeting number has to be set for day operation in the Table you are using.

The office staff automatically answers the phone and we just let the voicemail pick up if we are all on the line or out of the office. I have the correct greeting set for morning, afternoon, evening & non business hours. I played it back for each to verify it. But I cannot figure out why it doesn't pick up when we call the voicemail. It's just the automated attendant directing the caller to use an ext or access company directory. Is the AA supposed to be disable or on for the customized greeting to pick up? Do you think it would have something to do with the CCR Tree? I did check to see if I could assign one and it said that the tree was incomplete so if anything erased I'm thinking it would have been that because everything else looks good.

The original tech wanted to come in and reset the box and individually reset everything but this is clearly not needed. There is just one stupid setting and I just can't think of what exactly it could be. This isn't rocket science. It's a voicemail system. If I can get this far without training I'm sure hitting the right setting will not be a prob if someone just hints at it so I know what exatcly the prob is. I appreciate all the positive replies and help being offered! Thanks!

Vad has been helpful.

Let's try to get back to the root issues that we have. First, we need to know exactly what model of phone system (KSU) you have, along with software version. Secondly, we need to know the same information about the voice mail system. Once we have that information, we'll probably be able to point you in the right direction.

A simple set of questions:

1. Did the voicemail answer for ALL lines automatically if no one picked it up for so many seconds and does it still do that for ALL of the lines but NOT the new one added?

2. Do you know how to go in the line tables and set the number of rings before a line is picked up by the VM?

The tech must have bumped the voicemail system.

Thank you everybody for defending me. I understand cmespinosa. To get so far and give up because he's stuck and have no clue what is going on. It's hard to admit.
Cemspinosa, I think you had AA greeting is on that is why it's playing before your Customized one.
But I cannot figure out why it doesn't pick up when we call the voicemail. It's just the automated attendant directing the caller to use an ext or access company "
I think that if you listen to the end then Customized Greeting will start playing after AA's one.

Who put the new line on the system??........if it was a qualified installer they should be held responsible for the proper installation of that line which would include it covering to voice mail etc.

If it wasn't a qualified installer this is a perfect example of why it should have been!

Ok for those who are helping:

The SYSTEM says Norstar PLUS ICS
The VOICEMAIL SYSTEM is FLASH

The line was just reran because it wasn't done correctly the 1st time. So no extra phone numbers or anything were needed. We just needed to run a new phone into the office (which is an old victorian home) but the way the last tech had it set up, it wouldn't hold the load of the extra phone.

It seems as if the voicemail still picks up after the number of rings it was originally set at. I do know how to change the line tables but I'm not sure if that is what I am looking for. Like I said before it doesn't appear that anything else has changed except it doesn't go to the customized greeting like it did before.

The only thing I could come up with that may have been changed is I notice that when I try to access a CCR Tree it tells me that the tree is incomplete. Could these be my problem?

If I'm giving insufficient information please let me know. I'm not a dummy but I am also not professionally trained in this. I am limiting myself since I know I am not trained. But it does seem like it's just a disengaged setting. I just didn't want to mess with any of the CCR Tree settings until someone feels it may be what is wrong.

Also I see Vad's reply. Should I disable the AA? I wasn't sure if that was required to be on or not for the Customized Greeting to play.
I really appreciate all the help you guys!

That is a Nortel CICS telephone system with a Call Pilot voice mail. Your previous post says you have FLASH Mail which is a different model. Which do you have?

It looks like that model exactly but I'm sure it's flash bc this manual is only for flash. And everything they've told me to do works thus far. Sorry for the confusion.

From what you've said...

Just replacing a cable to permit 1 more phone (I assume from 2 pair to 3 or 4 pair cable) has absolutely nothing to do with the voicemail by itself.

However, if your father or whoever the "tech" was decided to play in the VM and try to make changes in the CCR tree, such as adding a separate branch for this new extension, then that would explain why it's messed up now. The tree needs to be "saved", but you can't do that until it IS complete.

From here, it's very difficult to see what he/she did to the tree to make it incomplete.

As stated before, get someone in there that knows what he's doing being you do something even worse.

You now have 3 options:
a) A few dollars now to set it up properly or
b) A few for aspirin for that acheing headache you're causing or
c) a lot more later after you mess it up far worse.

Your choice. There are times that even experienced techs have to admit that they are beyond their skill level. No offense, but you are at that point.

The tech did not touch the voicemail system whatsoever. Like I said before he wasn't told about it and didn't know about it. He reran a line and then the general mailbox began answering after that day so we've assumed it had something to do with the line. Now, like I said before he ran the line bc it couldn't handle the phone load. By that I mean when he tried to just plug in the phone with the old line, ALL OF THE PHONES WENT HAYWIRE. It could not handle the load. I believe this may have cause the CCR tree to erase or disable somehow. I'm not sure exactly. We have seven of those phone just in the main office. Then there is a phone in each therapist office. I can assure you he knew what he was doing. We were on a tight time schedule so I didn't think to check the voicemail system. He said it shouldn't have reset anything but sometimes it can happen. This is what brought me to find all the voicemail boxes and customized greeting.

Maybe when the phone went haywire it lost the CCR tree? If you don't want to help that's fine but there are other people helping me on this board so I will continue to reply to them.

OK, does the FIRST greeting you hear from the voicemail, come from the General Delivery Mailbox?

If not, tell us what plays first and what plays after that if anything. This is a step by step process to understand what is happening there.

Originally it was the general mailbox but I now have it set on the automated attendant which tells callers to dial ext or press # to access company directory by name, * to leave a message. If you don't select one then it tells you "exiting the system".

If you unplug the new phone, does the system return to "normal"?

This is a complex issue and really does require and knowledgable tech.

When it comes to telephone systems "A little knowledge can be dangerous".

No I've tried that.

check the operator feature. Your business may be set at "closed"

No such thing as "too much load" from a telphone set. Sounds like he fried the motherboard in the voicemail.

No such thing as a Norstar PLUS ICS. It's either an MICS or a CICS. Which one? Software version? Which model Flash? Software version of the flash?

All commands from a Flash unit will work with a CallPilot (and several other Norstar voicemail systems). So, which system do you have?

So after all this, you tell us that you had it playing the General Delivery Message but you changed it and set it to AA. The line being moved had nothing to do with this.

I try to be a patient person, I don't like being stranded and I don't like to see someone else stranded. That said, I would disable the CCR tree as you don't have a clue how to manage that and teaching you to manage a CCR tree is way beyond what you should expect here.

Disable the CCR, play with the settings and if that doesn't work, hire someone to teach you. It is not illegal or dishonest to hire someone.

In the future, should you wish to post here again, you really should give us the straight details and not telling us you changed from GD to AA hangs on your head.


You really deserve to pay someone to come walk you through this if you can't play with it now and make it work.

In my very first post it says at first it went to the general delivery mailbox. Please read it.

I stated we think that it was bc a new line was put in bc it was not a problem until directly after.

If certain people do not want to try to help that is fine. So leave the posting for people who would like to actually help. I thought this would be faster than teaching myself to do it but apparently not because most of you want to just complain. So don't keep reading the same post!

I appreciate those who have actually tried to suggest things to help me. Please send me a private message or something. Maybe if someone might actually try to explain things instead of talking about how incompetent I am in something you've all been trained in, then maybe I would get somewhere. I'm sure, with all the knowledge most of you claim to have, you have other things to do than complain on a message board.

And back to the helpful people I've come across. I have found a Nortel Tech site that explains how to perform most of the tasks clearly. I just wanted an opinion on what you think the problem is since you would be more familiar with it. Like I said I believe its just a setting that originally got disengaged and I only need to figure out how to use the greeting that has already been stored. I know how to build the CCR Tree but why do it if that is not the problem?

Is the automated attendant setting supposed to be on or off for a customized greeting to play?
Also as I mentioned before, it there appears to be no "complete" CCR tree in the system.

Now before this mess occurred our voicemail system would pick up after like 6 rings and the message would be something like,

"Thank you for calling. To reach so and so dial 225, to reach this person dial 226"... and so on.

I'm assuming that since the customized greeting is simple the CCR tree should be too? Any ideas?

cmespinosa:

The board administrators have tried to give you the benefit of the doubt at every turn in this case. You are a guest here and deserve to be treated as such, however as a guest you do not have the privilege of dictating when and how senior techs and moderators post. Sadly you have alienated most of the technicians that would normally have been your lifeline. At this point, Bunnie has gone far beyond what normally would be allowed in the open forum.

I believe the words you're looking for are "please" and "thank you." If the tone of this thread continues, it will be removed.

lol ok that's fine. I'll look elsewhere for help. You guys are hilarious.

Again thanks for those who took the time to actually help and not complain! I wish you and your families a Merry Xmas!!

Make sure that the AA menu prompt under Tables is set to N. The issue is that so often I find that on these forums users ask technical questions when they should hire a tech to come onsite. We get paid for our knowledge. I would reply more but I think more businesses should hire a tech, it would cost but it would be less of a headache.

It is not often that I am at a loss for words.

I really feel for people who are stranded and am thankfull it is so unusual for someone who has a problem to be so rude.

I started in this business in 1984 and have been stranded many times and many people have come to the rescue. I consider it a privilege to return the favor for all the times someone has helped me and I am sorry not everyone who wants help has never learned common manners but it is wonderful they are so few and so far in between.

I'm a little late but Happy Birthday Bunnie

Wow, I am overwhelmed, truly so, thank you so much.

I turned 64 yesterday and usually take the day off but XO insisted that they do a T-1 port, couldn't delay it because AT&T had screwed up the first port date (imagine if you will AT&T saying they were going to deliver a circuit the Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving, not really.) Then they had error problems and we couldn't cut.

And this other job of connecting two buildings went from a relatively simple job to several days and of course when did it start raining-as we had to do the outside work.

So your birthday cake is taken with great glee, no one goes to that trouble for the Bunnie, Thanks, you made my day.

Bunny I don't mean to come off as rude. I just got a little frustrated with some of the rude comments I was getting with no intention to help (from others). I know that its best to get a tech but I told my boss I'd do my best in fixing this and I've come a long way from where I started. I do appreciate the help that you have offered to me.

And I also wish you a happy belated birthday and happy holidays!

Thanks, I appreciate the words and I think you would do the firm good by paying someone to teach you for an hour. I've had no hesitation in hiring someone to teach me something that was over book reading time.

No one gets paid for our time here, we are all reaching out in gratitude, I believe, for the help we have been given. I'm a duffer at Merlin Legend and just asked for and got help for an end user who hires me for wiring and asks for help because he can't find anyone who wants to work on his system, only sell him something new.

I think we can all move on to new problems, Thanks, Bunnie