BleepingComputer.com: Email Problems Under Vista Home Home Premium

My wife's new Vista Home Premium laptop (only a week or so old) connects to the internet via our Belkin wireless router. My XP SP2 Home PC does the same. The two computers are also networked with each other.

For a few days my wife was able to send and receive emails normally. Now, suddenly, when she tries to send an email, she gets the following error report:

"The connection to the server has failed. Account: <ISP's pop3 address>, Protocol: SMTP, Port 25, Secure (SSL): NO, Socket error: 10061, Error number: 0x800ccc0e."


I have run several internet searches on this eror, which appears to be very common, and goes back to Outlook Express times. There are plenty of suggestions available for solving the problem in Outlook Express (that don't work for various reasons in Windows Mail), but I can't find anything about solving it in Windows Mail.

Her laptop is still able to connect to the internet normally, and to network with my PC. I've tried disabling her security software (Norton 360 - Windows firewall is switched off) but this had no effect. I've tried using System Restore to go back to the day before the error arose, but it failed to restore - I've no idea why. I've tried connecting to the ISP from a DOS prompt using the "telnet" command (this is not available by default in Vista but I activated it) but the connection failed.

Does anyone have any solutions to this problem, please?

Basically this error suggests that you cannot connect to the POP3 server to send emails (that's the SMTP thingie). This failure can be anywhere between the Windows Mail program on your computer all the way to the email server and it's software. If nothing has changed on your computer, then there's a possibility that the server is having issues (you can tell this because the email will start to work at a later time/date with no changes being made by you). Try calling the ISP to see if they've had some server issues. Also, try sending an email using the web interface for the email service - if that fails, then it's likely an issue with the ISP.

You can also try to see if the other computer gets the same error (this will help to isolate where the error is occurring).

Try pinging the pop3 server from a command prompt (for example: ping 66.212.192.66:25) The :25 will specify the port to ping. I have heard of connectivity issues with Vista with some ISP's - but none of them were partial (like this one). Also try pinging it without the :25 - that will tell you if any ports are open to the server.

Have you tried the Internet Connectivity Evaluation Tool at: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/using/too...gd/default.mspx You must use Internet Explorer with it. Let us know any problem areas that it may find.

Finally,

John - many thanks for your reply and your thoughts on this. Here's my feedback:

My other computer is having no problems with email, so I have no reason to suppose that the ISP is having server problems. I have also emailed the support desk at the ISP, who have not reported back any problems. They suggested deleting and recreating the email account within Windows Mail, which I have done. The problem remains.

I will certainly try pinging my ISP - can you suggest how I find out what their IP address is, please?

I will also try Microsoft's internet connectivity tool - thank you for that URL.

FYI I have now succeeded in restoring the computer to a restore point before the problem started (I ran System Restore in Safe Mode). This has not removed the problem.

Explosives may be my next solution - thanks for that advice also.

Most commonly this is an issue with the settings for the SMTP server - but it can also be an issue with the communications over port 25. Could you give us the name of your ISP so that we can research the appropriate settings?

Thanks, John. My ISP is www.tiscali.co.uk.

I'll look into it today (hopefully some others will also).

Also, try checking the firewall to ensure that it's allowing SMPT traffic. Some tweaking/protection programs might be blocking it.

Please check your Account Properties, you should have:

SERVERS TAB:
No check in Logon using Secure Password Authentication
No check in My Server Requires Authentication

ADVANCED TAB:
No check in This Server Requires A Secure Connection (SSL) - actually both of them should be unchecked, but since we're troubleshooting SMTP it's the outgoing one that we're primarily concerned with.

I used this link for it, it's amazingly similar to Windows Mail, huh? http://uk-tiscali.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/uk_...amp;p_topview=1

Here's a set of links for preparing to setup Vista on Tiscali: http://uk-tiscali.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/uk_...;p_new_search=1

Also, at the bottom of the Internet Connectivity Evaluation Test there's a link to approved Vista modems - is yours on the list?

Finally, try this (it's a shot in the dark tho') - disable IPv6 in the network connection properties (it's only required by Vista's Meeting Space), and then disable the DHCP Broadcast Flag according to these directions: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/928233 I have seen this fix mysterious connectivity problems with a local ISP in my area (I suspect that there's something in the router/modem/ISP that's not Vista compatible).

Thanks again, John. I really appreciate all the trouble you're taking on my behalf.

I'll try your suggestions a bit later (when I've finished painting the bleeping bedroom ceiling!).

OK, John - problem solved (I hardly dare say that, but my breath is held)!

The culprit turned out to be Norton 360. I uninstalled it, and all email functions immediately returned to normal. I've reinstalled it, and all seems to be OK... so far!

I'm very grateful for all your interest and suggestions. Thank you so much.

David