OL98: (CW) How to Troubleshoot Internet E-mail Configuration Problems

This article describes how to troubleshoot common Outlook configuration problems when you use the Internet E-mail services. Begin your troubleshooting with the "General Configuration Troubleshooting" section.

To troubleshoot issues concerning other information services, refer to the articles in the "References" section.

Information Services

Outlook (in Corporate or Workgroup mode) uses the following information services to send, store, receive messages and items, and to specify where to store addresses.

• Fax Mail Transport (when installed on Microsoft Windows 2000)
• Internet E-mail
• Microsoft Exchange Server
• Microsoft Fax (when installed on Microsoft Windows 95)
• Microsoft LDAP Directory
• Microsoft Mail
• Microsoft Outlook support for Lotus cc:Mail
• Outlook Address Book
• Personal Address Book
• Personal Folders

For additional information about information services, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: The Internet E-mail service contains the settings that are transmitted to the e-mail server to authenticate you and authorize the server to deliver your e-mail messages.

General Configuration Troubleshooting

Follow these troubleshooting steps to resolve configuration problems. After you complete each step, test to see if the problem is resolved.

• Create a new mail profile.
• Check your Internet connection.
• Set Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) as the default protocol.
• Other Internet connection issues.

Create a New Mail Profile

These steps help you identify if your existing profile is causing your configuration issues. Do not delete your existing profile until you troubleshoot the problem because you may need to reference the settings.

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Mail or Mail and Fax icon.
3. On the Services tab, click Show Profiles.
4. Click Add to start the Inbox Setup Wizard.
5. Click to clear the check boxes for all services except the Internet E-mail Service.
6. Click Next, and then type a name for the new profile in the Profile Name box.
7. Follow the prompts in the Inbox Setup Wizard, and then click Finish.
8. To change the default profile to the profile that you just created, click the profile in the When Starting Microsoft Outlook, use this profile list.

Check Your Internet Connection

To determine if your Internet connection is causing your configuration issues:

1. Quit Outlook, and then connect to the Internet. If you use Dial-Up Networking, double-click My Computer, double-click Dial Up Networking, and then double-click the connection that you use in Outlook.
2. Click Start, and then click Run.
3. In the Open box, type command, and then click OK.
4. At the prompt, type ping IP address, where IP address is the IP address of an Internet server. If you see the words "Reply from" four times, then the PING protocol was successful.
   
   If you receive another message, you are having an Internet connection or networking problem. Make note of the response, and then contact your network administrator or Internet service provider (ISP).
5. If you can PING a known IP address successfully, basic TCP/IP connectivity is functioning correctly. Next, try to PING the Internet server by typing servername.com (where servername is the name of your ISP server), instead of the IP address.
6. At the prompt, type ping servername.com. If you see the words "Reply from" four times, your PING was successful and your Domain Name Server (DNS) settings are functioning correctly.

A DNS maintains a database for resolving host names and IP addresses so that users who are configured to query the DNS can specify remote computers by friendly host names rather than IP addresses. DNS domains are not the same as Microsoft Windows NT networking domains.

For example, the ping ftp.microsoft.com command goes to the DNS server that you specified for your internet connection, looks up the IP address for the site, and then uses the PING protocol for that IP address.

For additional information about connecting to the Internet, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Set TCP/IP as the Default Protocol

After you know that your Internet connection is working, make sure that TCP/IP is the default protocol:

1. On your Microsoft Windows desktop, right-click Network Neighborhood, and then click Properties.
2. If you are using Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows 98, click TCP/IP (for the device that you use to connect, such as Dial-Up Networking), and then click Properties.
3. Click the Advanced tab, click to select the Set this protocol to be the default protocol check box, and then click OK.
4. If you are using Microsoft Windows NT, click the Bindings tab. In the Show Binding For list, click All Services. Expand the list for all services and click the Move Up and Move Down buttons to position the TCP/IP protocol at the top of each list.
5. Click OK, and then click Yes to restart your computer.

NOTE: In the TCP/IP Properties dialog box, verify that all Internet configuration information is correct. If you are not sure about any of the settings, contact your ISP.

Other Internet Connection Issues

The following list shows other possible causes for Internet connection problems:

• Most Internet addresses and connection settings are case sensitive. Check for correct capitalization.
• Make sure that your profile does not include multiple services that require a modem connection. For example, Internet and fax services in the same profile may cause modem conflicts in Outlook.
• Establish your Internet connection, and then start Outlook. If you receive an error message when you try to send or receive mail, confirm that all of your Internet Mail settings with your ISP. You may have typed a domain name server or news server address instead of the mail server address.
• Remote mail configurations may cause unexpected results. If you configure a service for remote mail, you may lose connections, or mail may not be sent or received as expected.

For additional information about remote mail, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

For additional information about configuring Outlook information services, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: