Cannot receive email messages via Outlook 2003

RangeR

Hi all,

I hope someone can help me. I have been using Outlook 2003 for some time and for the most part there have been no troubles.

Every now and then, It would give me an error that it can't check on of my email addresses. I never worried too much about it as this address get's about 99% spam.

However, yesterday was a different story. Yesterday morning at around 9am, it gave me the usual error for the usual account. I thought nothing of it as it eventually comes back and works. However, Since yesterday afternoon at about 4:30pm, I can not receive email from my business email account. I can send but cannot receive. It gives a different error, however [see pic below]. This new error is

The server responded: +OK 16476 octets

I KNOW it's not a problem with my email account, as I can check it on my friends computer AND mail2web.com.

I know that it's not my ISP [Clearwire and BT DSL] who's at fault as it doesn't work for me on either connection but does for my g/f.

It has to be something local to this machine. I've gone through the HELP -> Repair in outlook but still nothing. I've searched google for the error, but nothing.

Anyone got any ideas?

*EDIT* I'm running Virus Scan at the moment

WizZard

Check the account with mail2web to see if there is an overly large email there? That sometimes causes this error (although usually on dialup).

You don't perchance have a p2p client running whilst checking mail, or another bandwidth hog?

roamer

I come across these sort of problems regularily. In fact, I had a problem like this on Monday. The inbox had nearly 4000 emails in it, though I have seen this problem occur with less than 2000 before.

Have you alot of emails in the inbox? If your inbox has loads of emails, I suggest you go into your store folder and start a new inbox file. Basically close outlook, go into the store folder and rename the Inbox File to inbox archived or whatever. When you restart outlook it will create a new inbox file. Check to see if your emails are correctly working now.

To get back your old emails, you will create an archive folder.

ie.
Inbox
Outbox
Sent Items
Deleted Items
Drafts
*Archive Emails*

When you create the *Archive Emails* folder in the left column of your outlook display, it will create a new file in your store folder.
Now close outlook again and go to the store folder, you should notice the new file outlook has created for that *Archive Emails* folder.

Rename your old inbox file to the name of that newly created file.

Start outlook again and it should import all the old inbox files into Archive Emails.

RangeR

WizZard wrote:

Check the account with mail2web to see if there is an overly large email there? That sometimes causes this error (although usually on dialup).

You don't perchance have a p2p client running whilst checking mail, or another bandwidth hog?

Thank you for the quick reply. The next few email to be downloaded are no bigger than 15K. There are about 30 emails in total waiting to be downloaded and some of them are no bigger than 800K. Nothing unsual.

However, it doesn't explain the fact that my g/f can download mail properly with the same version of Outlook.

And no, I do not have any P2P running or installed. My BT DSL bandwitdh is not being used for pretty much anything except this email, at the moment.

Again, switching from DSL to Clearwire doesn't resolve the issue so I don't think it's a bandwidth issue.

It has to be something with my machine. Other machines are fine.

I also have software firewall turned off but I'm behind a router anyway.

RangeR

Roamer,

I assume that you are talking about Outlook Express, rather than full Outlook as I don't have directories but one big [355MB] PST file.

However.......

.......I took your advice and did similar to Outlook. Presto it works. Wow. You the man.

Not impressed with Putlook, it should error like that. The PST is well below mac file zise and I had no more than 1000 emails in various folders.

Thank you Wizzard and Roamer for all your help.

roamer

No problem, glad to hear its back working anyways.

RangeR

Actually, I was a little hastey in my response.

The way I have my email configured is that I leave messages on the server forever. At the moment it is dwnloading all emails from all accounts again

Well over 200MB. I'll know for wure when it's finished.

Thanx anyway

roamer

jaaaayus, there is an option to remove them from the server once downloaded, u know!

RangeR

I know, but I choose not to use that option. Just in case my computer goes belly up, I want to be able to download the emails to a different computer. Such is life.

Anyway, the download of emails fails after about 5 minutes and starts downloading everything again. I think I'll just wipe out the old emails and test again. Don't have time meseeing with the computer.

Unless anyone else has other quick suggestions?

roamer

Im fairly sure this is your problem... if the emails are downloading without that error.

You should just have about 500 emails in each pst. To backup your emails you should burn those pst files onto a cd or dvd.

The problem is with the pst file, they can get damaged very easily, especially when they are quite big so again keep it around 500.

irlrobins

Delete any mails that you don't require from server too.

And don't be too lenient. I find mails over a year old have no relevance to me today.