OL 6 Sending Error

[ttraider]

An unknown error has occurred. Protocol: SMTP, Port: 0, Secure(SSL): No, Error Number: 0x800C0131

This starts happening a week ago.
My computer (win98) will receive and send e-mails with no problems. After an hour or two, it will only receive e-mail but not send any e-mails out. I will have that error, (paste on top). I can ping the smtp server with no problems. The second I click on send mail that error would pop up right away. It does not even act like it is trying to find the mail server.
I'll have to reboot my pc and it will work on an hour or so and the same thing would happen again.
Any suggestions, please.

Thanks

 

[Linkmeister]

Does your ISP or mail server require you to logon using SSL (Secure Sockets Layer)? If so, you may have your port set incorrectly. The error message may indicate your port number is set to "0" and it should be something else. My ISP requires me to use SSL to authenticate my logon and my port number is 995. I'd look at this first and be sure your mail account has all the settings set properly particularly the server port numbers.

 

[ttraider]

My ISP does not require SSL. I read about that, too.
What is weird is that as soon as the PC is restarted, it sends out e-mails with no problems and it would last for couple of hours and it may crash again.
Maybe it is time to change to a different e-mail software.

 

[joegz]

Assume you are using OE 6.

You may have a damaged folders.dbx file. See

http://home.netvigator.com/~hht111/0x800c0131.html

joegz
"Sometimes you just need to find out what it's not first to figure out what it is."

 

[bmorgan1]

check and make sure the ports are set correctly
outgoing should be set to 25 and incoming 110
Do you have a firewall?

 

[ttraider]

I've already rename the folder. It work for a while more like a day.
All the ports are set correctly and yes I have a firewall - built into the router.
Thanks.

 

[PeterGriff]

I had this issue once and it turned out that there were two network cards installed, one in the laptop and one in the docking station. All worked well when docked, however when brought back to the dock it no longer worked as it was trying to use the wrong card. By using it off the dock the settings had rearranged themselves. I couldnt figure out the logic of it but once I had disbled one of the cards all was well.
Peter G

 

[posthorner]

For me, this began happening in July, after have stopped for a few weeks.
My computer (win98SE) will receive and send e-mails with no problems. After an hour or two,sometimes less, it will only receive e-mail but not send any e-mails out. I will have that error, (paste on top). It is getting worse.

For a while I can over-ride it by "sending" from the "Outbox" page. I also can over-ride it sometimes by closing OE, and getting the pop-up message asking me if I want to send unsent messages. It also can help by closing all other windows to the Internet that I have open, and especially any open e-mails. In the end, I have to re-boot, as described.
I assume MSN has changed something again, but they have said earlier that one should not have OE 6 and IE 6 because there are issues, and I figured this is my problem.

As earlier reported, the second I click on send mail that error would pop up right away. It does not even act like it is trying to find the mail server.
I'll have to reboot my pc and it will work on an hour or so and the same thing would happen again. It seems to work longer if I stay in INBOX and don't go to any websites at all.

If I try a long time, sometimes I can get the pop-up box asking me to re-log onto MSN with my user name and password, and this seems to have helped sometimes.

I have also found it seems to be different at different times of day. I believe it is a problem somewhere with the MSN servers, but that is my guess.

Since early July, I currently have Norton anti-virus, so perhaps this time it is a problem with them?

Have you found a solution?

 

[ttraider]

That is exactly the same problem I have.
Unfortunately I have not find the fix.
It is so frustrating. Somebody suggest a total reload of the win98se and ms office. That is too much to do.
But it is getting bad, so I may do that when I have a slow time. I am tired of shutting down the program to sent the files everytime or reboot. I find that it worse if you have IE running. I always check my e-mail and then shut down email and open it when I need to. That seems to help a little. I'll post here again if I find a different solution.

 

[PeterGriff]

Have you tried putting on a firewall such as the free Zonealarm (I know you already have NAT in your router). It will pick up any other programs that are using your internet connection which may give you a clue.
Also install, UPDATE, and run Adaware to clear off any spyware. Also your antivirus software in case something has snuck in.

Also, when you are re-installing Outlook Express I delete all the folders before reinstalling over the top (C:\program files\Outlook Express), and delete or rename the Identities folder (location varies dependinding on your Windows version).

Peter G

 

[stergios2]

I have the same problem and I just found this.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;233264

 

[posthorner]

Re-naming the file seems to work when I tried it the other day, but it buried my "Sent Items" file somewhere and started me out with a new empty "Sent Items" box. I didn't want to loose my big collection of past e-mails I've sent out, so after a few hours I used "GO BACK" that I have installed to go back to before I renamed that file. I will try doing that again, though, because I renamed 2 files and maybe should have only done one.
I suspect the cause of the problem may be related to the very large number of e-mails I have saved in the different files, and OE has a problem with that. Just a guess.
I still suspect it is something where Microsoft or MSN does something as I use them for most of my e-mail...and/or it is an OE 6.0 with IE 6.0 flaw.

 

[ttraider]

PeterGrif, I have all of what you have mentioned and it is still not working. Interesting enough - Yesterday, I did not have a single problem with OE. Lucky me!

Stergios2, I read that article before and I have done that before. It seems to cure the problem for a about a month for me and then it is back again.

Posthorner, I have to agree with you on one point - the numerous e-amil that I have. It seems that as my e-mail grew so is my problem. I have multiple sub-boxes for my e-mail. Each client of mine has its own box with an IN-BOX and an SENT-BOX. I've to keep some of this email for at least 6 months, sometimes even a year before I can clean them out. I think that maybe the cause of my problems.
Are you doing the same thing?

 

[posthorner]

Late yesterday and last night I did not have the problems, either. Then twice later this morning an MSN pop up asked me to enter my e-mail info, and after taking that pop-up [sometimes it doesn't process], I again had no problems either receiving or sending...for a while. It seems to me that every few hours the MSN server resets itself and kicks me out - but this is a wild guess. Early this year I called them [MSN ISP] re e-mail problems and they reset things, and said for some reason my problem was unique, and it wouldn't happen again. I did this several times. But it never really got fixed.When I reduced the size of my initial e-mail INBOX, and created various INBOX files, it helped greatly. Then it worked fine for many weeks. Then in July this problem began, which was similar to before. I have many files with 2 years worth of e-mails - and I probably, with attachments, add over 1 meg a week. Then of course this current problem my be totally unrelated.

 

[ttraider]

My e-mail server is through a local ISP and we have about 25 e-mail accounts. I am the only one in this company to have this problem. Go figure. Most of us are on OE6. I am think of just using different e-mail program altogether.
I don't seem to have any problems today, yet. I've cleaned out the SENT BOX and renamed it and create a new one, but the problem still exist.

 

[PeterGriff]

posthorner, you are worried about losing your e-mails when you rename folders, but they are not lost providing you do it correctly.

You need to copy, or backup the WHOLE Identities folder then delete it so that OE will recreate all the folder structure (including sent, inbox, as well as folders.dbx which is like an index of what folders are present).
It would then be worth deleting all the OE program files and re-installing OE.
Then you will be opening OE to a totally empty set of folders. Then you go to file -> import -> messages -> MS OE6 -> Import mail from OE store directory -> then browse to the backup Outlook Express folder (within the Identities backup folder you had made earlier).

It is really important to note that you CANT back up and restore just ONE folder this way - you must back up the complete Identities folder (or at least the Outlook Express folder nested inside it).

Also note that if you have copied the folder to CD all the folders and files will be "read-only" when you copy them back to the hard drive - you will need to turn off this attribute on all the files before importing them back in.

If you are worried about the size of your folders just look at the sizes of the *.dbx files - you will quickly see if there are any huge files present (one of my customers children was trying to send a 68MB file attachment and the customer was wondering why his e-mail wasnt working). My "sent" folder is the biggest, at 40 Mb.

Also a lot of internet providers have been struggling during the last 2 weeks due to the Blaster worm, its antidote virus, and Sobig.F which causes e-mail floods, so some of the mail servers are coming and going a bit.

Peter G

 

[barneydog]

Try this - it worked for me:
Close Outlook Express and close all open messages.
Click 'Start', click on 'Search', and then click 'Files or Folders'.
In the 'Named' box, type folders.dbx.
In the 'Look In' box, click your primary hard disk (usually drive C), and then click 'Search Now'. The Folders.dbx file will be displayed.
Right-click the Folders.dbx file, and then click Rename.
Type folders.old, and then press enter.
Start Outlook Express again. This creates a new Folders.dbx file automatically.
Is it sorted now?!

 

[posthorner]

Assorted Notes:
1. With this problem, I also loose the "Delete" function on my Inbox [but it comes back when I reboot eventually]
2. Sometimes the "Receive" function also stops
3. Sometimes when the "send" or sometimes the "receive" stops working, a "SIGN IN" pop up comes from my MSN e-mail ISP, and when I click "OK", "receives" come in and "sends" go out and everything works for awhile again. However, there is no way to get this pop-up to appear on command. MSN advises that it was put into the software to fix another problem when it is detected, and otherwise it is never supposed to come up. Here I thought I found a cause or a solution.
4. ANOTHER APPROACH - MAYBE A CLUMSY SOLUTION? In my pull down menu, as when I right-click on the "Inbox" word, I have "Outlook Express" then "Local Folders" then "Inbox" & "Outbox" & "Sent Items" etc. However, I also have besides "Local folders" under Outlook Express, further down, "Hotmail", and under that "Inbox" "Sent Items" etc.[no "outbox"] This must be because I collect my "hotmail" on this computer as well, and have configured under "accounts" to do that. WHEN I HIGHLIGHT THE OUTBOX MESSAGES that will not send, I can right click, select "MOVE TO FOLDER" and then select "HOTMAIL-INBOX" and click "OK" and then go to Hotmail Inbox and open the e-mail again, it will now SEND right from the Inbox! Amazing! Just came upon this today. However, it only works from this Hotmail Inbox, not my regular Inbox, which just moves it automatically back to the Outbox - which of course has the problem.
Can you do this as well?