There definitely is a problem with Outlook not installing the Outlook Address Book in some scenarios when Office or Outlook 2003 is deployed using the Custom Installation Wizard, but Microsoft has not said what the exact cause is. Perhaps the easiest solution is to provide users with a standalone .prf file that will modify the original mail profile to add the OAB. You will use the same screens in the CIW that you used to create the original mail profile settings: On Screen 17, choose Modify Profile, skip Screen 18, and then on Screen 19, use the Add button to add the Outlook Address Book. On Screen 20 and use the Export Profile Settings button to export the .prf file. You can then cancel the CIW operation, since all you need is the .prf file, not an .mst file for a full Office installation. Place that .prf file on a network drive or deploy it to the client machines using a login script, Custom Maintenance Wizard, or whatever method you normally use to deploy files to users.



The necessary operations on the client machines should follow this sequence:



1) Deploy Office with the .mst file created by the Custom Installation Wizard. This will place a .prf file with the original profile settings on the machine and set a registry value that tells Outlook to process that .prf file the next time the user starts Outlook.



2) The user starts Outlook, which processes the .prf file from Step 1, creates a mail profile with the desired settings, and then displays the Outlook user interface.



3) If the user launches the Address Book dialog in Outlook and doesnt see the Contacts folder, the user should shut down Outlook and proceed to Step 4.



4) The user runs the standalone .prf file. That will start Outlook, which will modify the default profile to add the OAB and then display the Outlook user interface.



After completing Steps 3 and 4, the user should be able to launch the Address Book dialog and see the Contacts folder, along with the GAL.