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Outlook 2007 - can't send email

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17 replies

by kenneth.mullins.ctr

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I am been stumped all weekend. Last Wednesday Outlook 2007 stopped sending my email. No error messages, in fact a copy of the message even appears in the sent items folder ? however no one (including me) is getting anything sent from my Outlook email account. I am receiving email just fine.

My Web Mail account works. I have tripled checked my e-mail setting ? they are correct. I contacted Time Warner / Road Runner ? no problems on their end. My wife (using a separate computer) can send and receive just fine with Outlook 2003 on a ?sub-account?.

I am running Windows XP Pro SP2, with Office 2007 SP1.

I disabled McAfee Antivirus and Zone Alarm ? same problem. I un-installed Outlook, then re-installed -- same problem.

17 replies

by thumbsup2

There are only two ways for messages to land in the sent items folder. Either they're moved manually (or with a filter/rule), or they're accepted by the ISP and SENT. Assuming you aren't moving them to the sent items folder by yourself and you haven't created some filter/rule that would be placing them there, that leaves the ISP. Messages don't automatically get put into the Sent Items folder unless they've been accepted by the ISP. Once control passes to them, it's out of your hands.

Don't settle for the ISP telling you they have no problems on their end. Force them to investigate what's going on. They can watch the email hit their server and trace where it goes. But, if you allow them to get away with not providing customer service, you can be assured they will take advantage of the opportunity.

by kenneth.mullins.ctr

I have checked the SMTP setting several times ? it is correct (smtp-server.satx.rr.com). I even tried putting in the IP Address (75.180.132.33) ? same problem.

Time Warner is telling me the problem is with Microsoft and I should contact them. I am inclined to believe them.

This happened once before, and I un-installed, then re-installed. That fixed it, but not this time.

by thumbsup2

You can use Outlook Express, temporarily, to test their theory. Server configuration would be the same, except the settings are in a different place. Set up the account then send a test message to yourself from it. If it goes through ok, it's Outlook. If not, and it lands in the sent messages (normal), it's the ISP.

You can also download Thunderbird (a free Mozilla product) to test with.

by kenneth.mullins.ctr

I set up Outlook Express and it was able to send e-mail without any problem. The problem seems to be with Outlook 2007.

by thumbsup2

Try changing the email format to plain text for both replies AND email that you originate and see if you can send one to a friend that way, not to yourself. The email needs to go out of the ISP to another server. Got a hotmail/yahoo/gmail address of your own that you can send to?

by kenneth.mullins.ctr

On an other forum, I saw the suggestion to change the MTU (from 1500 to 1492). The individual said that that did not help. But last night I was desperate and decided to give it a try. I went to my router (Netgear) and changed the MTU and I can now send email from Outlook 2007. I tried it again this morning and it is still working.

My task for today is to find out why Outlook 2007 won?t send with an MTU of 1500 ? when it was working for almost a year.

For anybody in the future with a similar problem (Outlook 2007, can?t send email, but no error messages). This same thing happened to me about 6 months ago. I un-installed then re-installed Outlook and that fixed my problem -- This time the un-install / re-install did not solve my problem. After trying close to a hundred things, changing the MTU did resolve my problem. I did not see anything about this on the MS web site (Technet).

I want to thank ThumbsUp2 for all your help and suggestions.

by david.wallis

what if you change the MTU back to 1500 does it still work??

might just be a weird coincidence :)

by thumbsup2

I keep telling you, it's not Outlook. You're waisting your time looking for the cause of the problem there. The program did its job. It sent the email and moved the corresponding "sent" email (email classified as having been accepted by the ISP because it received a signal from the ISP saying so) to the Sent Items folder, exactly what it should have done.

The MTU (Maximum Transmission Units) settings are in your registry and in the ISP's modem/router. Outlook has no control over those settings. Your equipment/transmission lines determine how fast things can go. Obviously, since it used to work and now does not, there has been a change in equipment, probably on the ISP's end.

You might want to read this:

http://help.expedient.net/broadband/mtu.shtml

Note; Changing the MTU on the computer alone is not enough. The router must match as well.

by kenneth.mullins.ctr

I went back to the PC and without testing Outlook 2007; I changed the MTU back to 1500. It did NOT work (i.e. I can?t send e-mail). I then changed the MTU back to 1492 ? and it still does NOT work. While I am NOT sure, I suspect that Outlook 2007 had stopped working before I made any changes.

I am only changing the MTU on my router ? I did not edit my registry.

While the problem may well not be Outlook 2007 ? that is the only program that I am having any problems with.

by kenneth.mullins.ctr

Last night I spent time both on-line chat and phone calls with Time Warner (TW). They were not very helpful. They insisted that nothing was wrong with their servers; the problem was with Outlook 2007. However the log showed that the messages were received by their server ? but that did not matter. My theory is that these were low level tech support and TW would not let them near a server.

I don?t know why, but I turned off my signature block ? and low and behold the message went through. So I played with it awhile and found that the URL to my home page was the culprit. I created a new signature block (I though maybe my old block was corrupted) ? same thing happened. ULRs in the message body go through OK, it only in the signature block. I don?t know why. The log shows that the message was received by smtp-server.satx.rr.com ? so they must be doing something strange.

I have spent a week of time trying to solve this frustrating problem. BTW (By The Way) the MTU is back to 1500. Thanks for your help. TW has never been very high on my list of favorite tech companies, now they are even lower.

by david.wallis

if the emails have left your client and arrived at their servers then the prob is 100% their end and not yours!

its something to do with the way their mail servers are setup to recieve MIME messages.......

by seaziz_ksa

The problem may be by Spam effect, some spams will block sending email.But mostly if spam effected in your computer, when you send any mail show you an error message that mentioning cause of block.

by bugbrown

in Verizon's search function, type port 587 and follow directions. Unfortunately, it did not work for me. Those of us without a verizon.net address are probably going to have to make a big change to either another service provider or to a more expensive HSI (with static IP addressing). Good luck.

by bugbrown

Unfortunately, I have the same problem with Outlook Express...can't send out emails.

by mrsholdenfarms

thank you sent HOURS trying to figure this out. And i don't know didley about computer. Matched all me seting to my husbands lpt and everything matched then i found your post about the signatures. Removed mine and it WORKED 8) can't thank you enough. Sometimes i think computers are a curse but in times like this they can be a blessing. THANK YOU.

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