When email stops working what can you do?

Here's a suggested list organized in a priority that builds from most-frequently to least frequently encountered problems.

1. VERIFY SETTINGS - Most major providers of E-mail services (AT&T, Comcast, MSN, Yahoo, etc.) have help pages, which are often organized according to popular E-mail software choices (e.g. Outlook, Outlook Express,  etc.)  We suggest you begin by Googling (Your service Name) followed by the phrase "Pop3 settings" (or "HTTP" or "IMAP" in place of 'Pop3' if appropriate).
   
   It's not too hard to get the settings wrong, or even to have them correct but not working.  For example we've learned the hard way that Outlook 2000 usually requires a reboot of the involved PC to fully recognize and implement any new settings.  However, later versions of Outlook seem to work 'OK' by simply terminating and restarting Outlook itself.
   
   
2. TEST SETTINGS - In Outlook 2003/2007 don't totally rely on the [Test Account Settings] button.  It will sometimes fail to send a test message even though the settings are otherwise correct.  It is however a good tool to begin the process to isolate or even choose to ignore certain errors.  And, that said the [Test Account Settings] button does typically work as intended!
   
   
3. TEST MESSAGE(S) - Send a test message to yourself... 
   CAN'T RECEIVE? - If you're having trouble receiving E-mail, verify that you can send a message from a free E-mail site (e.g. Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.) to help isolate the problem. 
   CAN'T SEND? - If your having trouble sending use the free E-mail to verify that you can receive a message.
   Knowing what does and does not work helps tremendously in isolating and solving problems or getting help that is efficient and successful...
   
   
4. CHECK SERVER - On more than one occasion we've found a corrupt or just too large message queued for delivery at the E-mail server, but unable (due to ISP rules or a corruption in the message(s) itself) to be sent from the server, or to be received by E-mail software.  Most E-mail service providers have webmail features where you can access and preview E-mail that is queued for you to receive with E-mail software on your PC.  Use WebMail to inspect and maybe even clear out a suspicions message or messages.
   
   
5. RUN FILE-FIX - Most E-mail tools have a repair  facility.  In the case of Outlook you can use a program called 'ScanPSt.Exe' that is located on most PCs (also downloadable from the Internet) to backup, verify and fix a message or '.Pst' file.  In Outlook Express use [Tools]-->[Options]--> Select the 'Maintenance Tab' and then-->[Clean Up Now].
   
   Such procedures are important because we've seen a single corrupt message block all capabilities to send and/or receive E-mail.
   
   
6. DELETE & RE-KEY - Delete and re-key the settings even if they are exactly right It's possible for settings to be entered correctly and still be corrupt.  So when all else is failing take a snapshot of the current settings, then delete, and re-key. 
   
         HINT: We often snapshot settings for future reference by using the [Alt] and [Prt Scr] keys.  This places a snapshot of the current
         window onto the clipboard ready to paste into a 'Microsoft Word' or 'Windows Write' document that can be saved and printed for reference.
   
   
7. VERIFY ELSEWHERE - Fortunately it's rare, but problems with E-mail can begin elsewhere on a PC.  So, to verify that your settings are correct and that target PC is having a problem, implement the settings on another PC (ideally inside the same local are network or at least on the same Internet connection).  If the settings work elsewhere, the target PC may have a corruption it it's registry or TCP/IP stack.
   
   
   We had such a situation with Outlook 2000 on a Windows XP PC.  The settings worked on another PC but not the target one.  We finally upgraded Outlook to Outlook 2003 and the problem went away...  We didn't even need to re-key the settings!
   
   
8. GET HELP - Contact your E-mail provider to verify settings and experiment with alternates to the standard settings including particularly the standard SSL (Secure Socket Layer) settings.  We recently had a problem that occurred because Microsoft Outlook 2003 with Service Pack 1 was inconsistent with SSL settings that expected Service Pack 2.  A second level support staffer gave us a non-SSL setting to try and suddenly everything worked as it had a week before that inconsistency caused a problem.
   

If you are an Outlook Express user thinking about moving to Outlook 2000/ 2002/ 2003/ 2007, or if you use Microsoft Outlook you may wish to review our 'Outlook-oriented' guides titled:

• OE to Outlook-The What, Why & How? ( Oversized files)
• Outlook Archive Files-The What, Why & How
• Outlook (E-Mail) Small Network BackUp

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