ChatterBank32 mins ago
Outlook Express - receiving NOT sending
10 Answers
Out of the blue and for no reason whatsoever my e-mail wont let me send anything - I just get the 'your server has un-expectedly terminated the connection' message. It is still receiving mail fine but if there is anything in the outbox it just keeps saying ERROR. Any suggestions? Please help!
Answers
Best Answer
No best answer has yet been selected by ChirpyKez. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Ok, the way to check is to look at the account details within Outlook Express. I don't use it myself, but it will be something like Tools/Accounts. You may have just one email account listed, or possibly several. If several, one should be highlighted as being the default one, and it is this one that is used when you send email. You need to open up the properties for this account and look at the outgoing mail server details. If you are using Sky, it will be something like smtp.sky.com. You can actually log into your Sky account on-line and download a file that installs the correct settings for Outlook Express, you may have done this....
Let me know the name of the outgoing mail server.
Paul
Let me know the name of the outgoing mail server.
Paul
OK, well, looks like your SMTP settings are just fine, and obviously, you haven't changed them just recently.
More likely, your firewall is blocking the emails. One quick way would be to simply turn it off, just for a short while. Somewhere, within your Norton Control Panel, there will be a firewall setting, you should be able to turn it off temporarily, and then try sending a few emails.
For the record, there are hardware firewalls and software firewalls. Picture them as exactly that, a ring of fire protecting those on the inside from any nasty creatures on the outside! In a typical setup, say 3 PCs wirelessly sharing a broadband internet connection, there would be 1 hardware firewall provided by the router, and each PC would run its own software firewall. In simple terms, the hardware firewall does the main job of stopping things (hackers) getting in, the software firewall stops things going out (as in rogue applications sending out personal information, or Denial Of Service attacks to company servers). However, the software firewall doesn't always know what is legitimately trying to contact the outside, so we need to tell it. For example, your email client is something you want to pass through the firewall, as you need to send emails. Other applications will also attempt to connect to the internet from your PC to see if there are software/driver updates (Windows, cordless mouse & keyboard, anti-virus software itself). What would normally happen when something tries to connect to the internet, typically at Windows Startup, would be that your firewall would kick-in and say, for example, "Logitech iConnect is trying to connect to the internet...do you wish to allow this?". You would then be given the option to say yes to this, and would not be asked again. You shouldn't really be asked this for email, especially something like Outlook Express.
Paul
More likely, your firewall is blocking the emails. One quick way would be to simply turn it off, just for a short while. Somewhere, within your Norton Control Panel, there will be a firewall setting, you should be able to turn it off temporarily, and then try sending a few emails.
For the record, there are hardware firewalls and software firewalls. Picture them as exactly that, a ring of fire protecting those on the inside from any nasty creatures on the outside! In a typical setup, say 3 PCs wirelessly sharing a broadband internet connection, there would be 1 hardware firewall provided by the router, and each PC would run its own software firewall. In simple terms, the hardware firewall does the main job of stopping things (hackers) getting in, the software firewall stops things going out (as in rogue applications sending out personal information, or Denial Of Service attacks to company servers). However, the software firewall doesn't always know what is legitimately trying to contact the outside, so we need to tell it. For example, your email client is something you want to pass through the firewall, as you need to send emails. Other applications will also attempt to connect to the internet from your PC to see if there are software/driver updates (Windows, cordless mouse & keyboard, anti-virus software itself). What would normally happen when something tries to connect to the internet, typically at Windows Startup, would be that your firewall would kick-in and say, for example, "Logitech iConnect is trying to connect to the internet...do you wish to allow this?". You would then be given the option to say yes to this, and would not be asked again. You shouldn't really be asked this for email, especially something like Outlook Express.
Paul
Paul - thanks for all your help and detailed answers, you've been great! I think I've sorted it now, I tried what you said and then tinkered around with the settings and hey presto. It is just annoying that random things like this happen from time to time - damn computers!! You obviously know your stuff - I wish I knew more, I just muddle through!