OE problem

[BobJam]

I'm having a problem with sending emails in Outlook Express.

It's only now and then and I can't make too much sense of when it happens EXCEPT it seems to be related to my ISP.

If my ISP is the problem, then likely I can't solve it by adjusting some setting.

Which brings me to another suspect - settings.

Now let me describe the problem before I go any further.

When this problem happens, it's always after I FIRST get online. When I try to send emails, it gives me the message that my ISP was unable to send the email because the "domain does not exist" - which is actually not true. I've even checked the spelling of the domain and that is always correct. I've also composed emails with the "Reply" button, which ensures that the domain is correct since I GOT that email from THAT domain, and it still gives me that refusal message.

Now the reason I think it may be my ISP is because if I get off line (I have an archaic 56K dial -up) and then reconnect and start IE/OE again, the email gets sent OK.

I probably need to "experiment" with this more, because I can't necessarily duplicate the problem. Sometimes when I first get online, emails will get sent OK - which is one of the reasons why I think this may have something to do with my ISP. Maybe it's a faulty modem in one of their modem banks that I connect to now and then.

I've looked at some of the IE settings, but I don't understand a lot of them.

Another suspect is some of the IE Add-ons that I use - like the Google Toolbar. But I disabled Add-ons in the Advanced IE settings, restarted IE, sent emails OK, and then enabled Add-ons again, restarted IE, and emails still went out OK - VERY confusing. So it doesn't seem to be IE Add-ons.

I run the Zone Alarm firewall (I have XP's disabled), and maybe it's some setting in there.

Oh . . . another suspect is my Hosts file. But I've never changed that, and I've also NOT changed any of my settings recently, and this problem just started this week.

I don't think it's any spyware either, because I run Ad-aware and Spybot frequently, and all that ever shows up on a scan are bothersome tracking cookies. Which brings me to another suspect.

I recently downloaded and installed Ad-Aware's new version, "Ad-Aware 2007". I'm wondering if it could be some setting in that.

I also run an antivirus program - McAfee 8.0i. So I don't think it's a virus. But I'll have to check the settings in McAfee.

Trying to relate this problem to something I've done recently, Ad-Aware 2007 is the only suspect I can come up with.

So . . . I'm baffled by this thing. As I said, if the problem lies with my ISP modem banks, then I doubt I can do anything about it. But if one of my settings is screwed up, then maybe I can change it and solve the problem.


Suggestions????

 

[TerryNet]

I understand that sometimes your attempts to send email fail. But I don't understand the nature of the problem. Your thread title says "OE problem," then you talk about "message that my ISP was unable to send the email" and later you mention the possibility that "the problem lies with my ISP modem banks."

The first indicates a problem within OE, the second indicates that your ISP's email server gets the email from you but doesn't know what to do with it, and the third indicates that you don't even get internet access.

Can you narrow it down? Or do you need help determining which it is? Or am I totally off base?

 

[BobJam]

Hey TerryNet,

OK . . . I likely didn't state the problem accurately.

The reason I titled the post "OE problem" is because OE is my email program, and it may be an IE/OE settings issue.

But the problem itself . . . well . . . you stated it correctly in your first sentence: "attempts to send email fail". That is the whole problem.

The "message that my ISP was unable to send the email" appears in OE. One of the possibilities for this that I've suspected is that the ISP's modem banks are malfunctioning when it comes to identifying a domain (if in fact modems do that sort of thing - i.e. identify domains). But at this point that is only a possibility, NOT a certainty.

And, YES, I am able to get on the Internet, and OE does download emails regardless of the "send" problem, it's just that sometimes the "send" function fails.

One peculiarity I forgot to mention. When an email fails to "send", it's only emails to ANYONE OTHER THAN MYSELF (don't misunderstand here, I'm not in the habit of sending emails to myself). But when this happened one time, I did an "experiment" and wrote a "test" email and sent it to myself. That one went through. So, when the problem happens, my OE/ISP (either one depending on where the actual problem really does rest) apparently recognizes my own domain and sends it through.

You may have put your finger on the actual problem when you said my "ISP's email server gets the email from you but doesn't know what to do with it".

And, YES, I do need help determining just exactly where the problem lies: IE/OE settings, settings on something else (e.g. Ad-Aware, Zone Alarm, McAfee), or my ISP.

Hope I have cleared this up here.

 

[TerryNet]

About all modems do are "translate" between computer and phone line. They don't have anything to do with whether your outgoing email works.

One of my conjectures, since this happens only after your initial connection, is that sometimes your dial-up connection is so busy checking/getting Windows, Zone Alarm, McAfee, etc., updates that the outgoing email packets (or responses from the server) get lost. If this is true then you wouldn't have to disconnect/reconnect; simply Send again in OE after traffic quiets down. If you want to follow up on this idea get into Task Manager before you connect and then watch the network traffic. See if it's high when the email send fails.

I don't know if the above guess is compatible with "domain does not exist." What is the exact entire error message?