AOL and Outlook Express 6 - HELP!

[freelancer1]

Hi,

I'm having lots of problems sending email using OE6 with AOL9. I keep getting timeouts, or the message "server unexpectedly terminated the connection". The server is smtp.aol.com. I use port 587 and email2pop to go between OE6 and AOL. I don't have that many problems receiving email. I contacted AOL help, but they weren't much use. I also contacted email2pop, to see if they had any tips - unfortunately they're stumped too. You can view that conversation here...


http://forums.porkchup.com/viewtopic.php?p=6935#6935

Has anyone else had these problems? If you could help, that would be great. I use OE for my business and this is giving nightmares - instead of sending autoreplies, I have to manually send invoices, help sheets, confirmations etc. If I don't sort it out soon, I'm gonna need some serious counselling. :)

Please help!

[Paul Komski]

Recent thread here at http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30788

Try configuring the pop server as you want it but the AOL settings for the smtp server if you are using AOL as your ISP. Use the aol eMail addy as the from address but the other pop account's email addy in the "Reply To" setting and that should keep AOL happy hopefully.

As far as I can make out AOL will "hijack" any smtp settings while you are connected through AOL.

The poster of the other thread never posted back with a positive or negative result so would be interested to see if you can get this to work. I have always steered assiduously away from AOHell so I have never been able to test these things out. I do however often use different pop and smtp servers (from different ISPs) here in Ireland and it always seems to work well.

POP settings are like your own letter box on you own front door but the SMTP ones are like public posting boxes with the ISPs often only letting you use their own posting boxes while you are signed up to them.

;)

[freelancer1]

Thanks! I'll try that out in the morning and get back to you. Yes - ideally I'd switch isps and get away from AOHell, but I've established my email address here and I also use their free hosting for a lot of pictures.

If I changed, I'd have to switch all that over. What's more, I'm not the only user for this PC. I guess you can run two isps side-by-side - that might be a good long term strategy. Is that possible? Actually, I might seriously consider that option....hmmm...

Anyway, I'll try out your suggestion and get back ASAP.

Best,

Pete.

[Mark Miller]

Hi Paul, and freelancer,
I have aol [though not as my isp], it's bring your own access, cable] and I never been able to make that work.
On my isp I use outlook express and aol their own mail server.
We have never been able to figure out how to send photo's that are not stored on aol, thru aol. It always reverts back to outlook express and if it's on aol must first download to separate folder outside aol to use outlook express. [ Don't ask about why we have aol also, something to do with my wife's 7 year mail addy :D ]
Freelancer, I hope Paul's suggestion works for you and you post back so I can try it.
Mark

[freelancer1]

Actually, I've just been reading over your suggestion again. Here's the thing: I'm actually using my aol address to send the email - email2pop doesn't have a separate addy.

Email2pop is supposed to just sign you in so you can use your aol address with outlook express. I need to send a lot of autoreplies to customers, and this is the way I've tried to do it. I also need to organise my email in a sensible way, and I hate AOL's client. In future, I'm considering starting a newsletter etc, so I need a solid base for my email setup.

Unfortunately, I'm having big problems with sending the mail. Here's the normal error:

"Your server has unexpectedly terminated the connection. Possible causes for this include server problems, network problems, or a long period of inactivity. Account: 'e-Booked!', Server: 'smtp.aol.com', Protocol: SMTP, Port: 587, Secure(SSL): No, Error Number: 0x800CCC0F"

I think what you were getting at was sending mail from a different addy through your AOL account, but I'm not sure. It's kinda late and I'm slightly drunk.

Email2pop does offer a localhost for sending email, but whenever I try to use it, I get an error along the lines of "the sender's email address was rejected. The address was xxxxx@aol.com".

I hope this clarifies a little bit. BTW: If I can't get AOL to work, can I run a second isp at the same time? Or is there another way to send autoreplies and organize email while still on aol broadband? I guess eudora would have the same problems as OE6, since it seems to be the smtp that's causing the problem.

Interestingly enough, I had a couple of hours yesterday when I could send as much mail as I wanted - no errors at all. Then all of a sudden it started terminating the connection "unexpectedly".

Many thanks,

Pete.

[Paul Komski]

MSKB ARTICLE (http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=813514)

You should be able to set up any number of DUN ISPs but you will need to remember to select the right one at dialup time and you may need to watch your eMail settings closely particularly if you need to duplicate the OE mail accounts for the same POP account but using two different SMTP accounts.

[freelancer1]

Hi,

Well, I've tried everything and I still can't send. What do you think I should do? I've contacted the postmaster at aol (no reply yet).

Should I switch isps? This is expensive - we're signed up with AOL broadband until October, and I'm not the one who paid the subscription (shared PC). Maybe I could get a new isp now and then dump aol when the subscription runs out - is it possible to keep using using your aol email address for a while after you stop using them? Actually, how about this: I switch to pay-as-you-go dialup for aol and get a broadband connection from another company. That way I can keep the old addy. What's the best UK isp? I want to expand the email side of my business - set up newsletters etc, so if I'm likely to run into more problems with aol, I might as well switch now before my problems get even bigger.

Is there another way to send mail through aol? I've tried a localhost, and it seems like aol just rejects anything that doesn't go through smtp.aol.com. Which kind of sucks, because that server is crap...

Last week I used port 25 to send my email with no probs - this week, I get errors that say "must use port 587 with aol". But I haven't actually managed to send anything through 587. What are ports exactly -in a physical sense? Is it possible that there's a problem with the port? (Sorry for my naivety, I just don't know much about ports).

Any other suggestions? And if I stick with aol, are there any other big problems with the service? People call it AOHell - why? (I think I'm gonna regret asking that question, but feel free to rant if you like!)

Best,

Pete.

[Mark Miller]

The biggest problem with aol is that it's software is proprietary and takes a lot of resources from your computer to run.
The best way to use aol and broadband is called byoa or bring your own access.
You get a regular isp and then run aol on top of it.
It is more expensive [paying for 2 isps].
If you catch the deal right you can get the aol part for as low as 9.95, though most wind up paying 14.95 for the byoa service.
One advantage with byoa is after contacting aol you can run different screen names on more than 1 computer but still using the same account. Aol must set this up for you.
Most people who have been on the net for any period of time hate aol because it is not a very efficient way of using the net.
If you don't have kids and don't need the parental controls. which by the way are very good, there are better ways to use the net.
On the other hand there are some cool features that people really like [like my wife:D ]
Their mail system is tough to get around and that's another reason people leave it.
Most of the people who hate it also haven't used any of the newer versions which are pretty good.
Sorry for long reply, but I have a lot of experience with aol.
Feel free to ask me any questions.
Get byoa, it's better
Mark

[freelancer1]

Hi Mark,

That's really interesting - thanks! I've had big problems with AOL dial-up in the past (logs you off ALL the time, crashes permanently, lets you read email but prevents access to any website). I've got AOL9 with Broadband now, and I've got no probs. Apart from the fact that I hate the mail client. I don't like the browser much either (I like to run IE/netscape on top). But the connection is pretty darned fast!! Never logs me off, either.

Are we talking $9.95 USD? I'd really like to switch ISPs in the long term - my aol subscription runs out in October. I'm thinking of getting Firefly UK for BB access, and buying pay-as-you-go for AOL. Does that sound sensible?

I'd like to hear more about byoa - tell me everything you know!!

Best,

Pete.

[Mark Miller]

The best answer to your question on byoa since you don't live in the states is to look on the aol site. On the toolbar there is an option called settings, click it and then click billing options, it will explain all the different ways of paying and setting up plans for aol.
Remember byoa is basically using 2 isp"s and getting the best of both worlds.
Don't just take what it says there as the gospel, because you can always call and try and make a deal [I did!!!].
I think though that paying for aol as you go will be one of the most expensive.
The 9.95 is in us currency.
Aol is cool if you use it's special functions, such as free cnn streaming vids and their radio in my opinion is the best.
If you are just using it to connect and then going to another browser, maybe you don't need it.
My wife will not get rid of it because she has had the same e-mail for 7 years. Does not want to tell everyone a new address.
I like it because there are games that cost money elsewhere that are free thru aol.
Most of the time I don't use it at all and go straight to firefox.
I am here for any questions.
Mark

[freelancer1]

Thanks for the tips! When I say use AOL dialup, I mean so that I can keep the old email etc - but just drop in to check it every week or so. I would use another isp for my broadband. An interesting point: would I need to connect to aol at all to view my mail this way? Could I just logon to aol.com and use the dial-up - say - once a month so that the account stays active? Do I need to use the dial-up at all to keep the address, do you just need to be subscribed? What are the rules?

I reckon using another isp - and AOL pay-as-you-go every so often - would be a good option. Do you think it would be cheaper than byoa?

Cheers,
Pete.

[Mark Miller]

Hey Pete,
I understand now what you mean. I am not really sure about connecting for your e-mail via aol.com
If that does work then you might not even need the dial up account but just go straight thru your isp broadband to aol.com
If you do need some kind of account to keep your e-mail then they have some very cheap plans for a few hours a month.
Again your best bet, especially being in U.K. [by the way one of my favorite places to visit:D ] is to call and go thru your choices with them.
Remember they don't want to lose any more people so I am sure they will work with you.
I know the feeling about keeping an e-mail account that all your friends and family know.
Let me know how it goes:)
Cheers!!!!
Mark

[freelancer1]

Hi,


I think I might have solved the problem - at least for now. I visited this page:

http://www.modemhelp.net/vblite/showthread.php3?threadid=693

They have hundreds of reasons for timeouts/OE6 errors, and I played around for a few hours until I found my problem. It seems that OE is not remembering my password, despite the fact that I've ticked "remember password". But instead of delivering a "no passsword" error, it delivers a standard timeout/server error. For this, I used a registry fix:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=264672

It seems to be sending and receiving OK, but for some reason I still get the little "error" exclamation mark. Weird.

Anyway, here's a tentative "problem solved" - at least until it happens again.....(cue ominous music!)

Thanks for the help!