Error 5421

[Archie]

Referring to David Boleyn's message of Sept. 3rd, I too am running OS
X 10.2.6. and using Verizon DSL as my internet provider. My Entourage
is version 10.1.1. Until recently, I was using a regular dial-up for
my ISP and never had a problem with sending any size email. Now, I
cannot send an email over 1K - pretty tiny letter. When the size
reaches 2K (about 3 sentences), I get the message "Mail Cannot be
sent. The server is busy, try again later. Error 5421.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Diane Ross]

Referring to David Boleyn's message of Sept. 3rd, I too am running OS
X 10.2.6. and using Verizon DSL as my internet provider. My Entourage
is version 10.1.1. Until recently, I was using a regular dial-up for
my ISP and never had a problem with sending any size email. Now, I
cannot send an email over 1K - pretty tiny letter. When the size
reaches 2K (about 3 sentences), I get the message "Mail Cannot be
sent. The server is busy, try again later. Error 5421.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Try updating Entourage to 10.1.4 and see if that helps:

Version Info for Entourage.

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/version.html>

 

[David F. Boleyn]

Diane

Thanks for your help and suggestion, but I am already running Entourage
10.1.4. No change.

I think part of the solution (maybe all of it) lies with the Systems
Preferences Internet setting. When you bring it up, you are confronted with
that iMac. nonsense, but there are three other tabs. One deals with e-mail
and the other with the Web.

On the e-mail tab settings I have tried to put in my relevant information,
which the window accepts. But after trying to send an e-mail - which still
won't work - I went back to see if I put in the information correctly, and
IT'S GONE!! Unfortunately, there is no "lock" button on the tab window to
prevent changes.

Also, I installed Symantec's Norton Internet Security Mac 3.0. Thinking it
might be playing a role here with it's "Personal Firewall" and "Privacy
Settings." I uninstalled it. No change.

As Archie reported, we can only send e-mails that don't exceed 1K in size,
and cannot send any attachments at all. Interestingly, though, we can
receive e-mail of any size, with or without attachments.

I'm going on vacation next week, but when I get back, I think I might
reformat the disk and start over. E-mail is essential to my business. Either
that or I'll get a different e-mail client.

Thanks again for your help.

Dave

(e-mail address removed)

 

[Diane Ross]

I think part of the solution (maybe all of it) lies with the Systems
Preferences Internet setting. When you bring it up, you are confronted with
that iMac. nonsense, but there are three other tabs. One deals with e-mail
and the other with the Web.

On the e-mail tab settings I have tried to put in my relevant information,
which the window accepts. But after trying to send an e-mail - which still
won't work - I went back to see if I put in the information correctly, and
IT'S GONE!! Unfortunately, there is no "lock" button on the tab window to
prevent changes.

You don't set Entourage Account info in System Preferences. In the Entourage
menu bar under Tools select Accounts. Enter the account info here.

The System Preferences info is used my Apple's Mail application. It's
confusing to say the least.

See our Getting Started Page:

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/help/start.html>

 

[David F. Boleyn]

I've already set the account information correctly - checked and checked and
checked again - in Entourages' Account settings.

Here's something weird. The message you responded to is still in my outbox,
yet - obviously - it got posted. I think it's time for me to go home.

Thanks for the suggestion

 

[Diane Ross]

I've already set the account information correctly - checked and checked and
checked again - in Entourages' Account settings.

Here's something weird. The message you responded to is still in my outbox,
yet - obviously - it got posted. I think it's time for me to go home.

Quick check for corruption in your current Identity:

Create a new Identity in Entourage
Switch to the new Identity
Create an account and send a message

Does it stay in the Outbox?

If the new Identity works, then try rebuilding the database in your current
Identity.

Rebuild Info:
If you¹re in Entourage X, first go to Entourage -> Turn Off Office
Notifications. Quit Entourage, and then restart Entourage holding down the
Option key. When the Rebuild dialog box comes up, choose to do a Typical
Rebuild.

More info on rebuilding database here:

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq/database.html>

 

[Archie]

Quick check for corruption in your current Identity:

Create a new Identity in Entourage
Switch to the new Identity
Create an account and send a message

Does it stay in the Outbox?

If the new Identity works, then try rebuilding the database in your current
Identity.

Rebuild Info:
If you¹re in Entourage X, first go to Entourage -> Turn Off Office
Notifications. Quit Entourage, and then restart Entourage holding down the
Option key. When the Rebuild dialog box comes up, choose to do a Typical
Rebuild.

More info on rebuilding database here:

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq/database.html>

Diane,
I have created a new identity and I am now able to send emails up to
2K. It's very strange. Nor can I send any attachments, same as David.
I did try rebuilding the database, but that made no difference. I have
also checked and rechecked all the account info. The fact that I was
able to increase the size of the email by creating a new identity was
promising; however, it is still a tiny email. Should I completely
remove entourage from my disk and reload it? Should I trash my
preference file? Does the fact that the message is always the same -
"The server is busy, try again later" indicate anything in particular?
Thanks for all your help. I hope we can solve this for me and have the
problem taken care of by the David gets back from vacation!
Archie

 

[Archie]

Quick check for corruption in your current Identity:

Create a new Identity in Entourage
Switch to the new Identity
Create an account and send a message

Does it stay in the Outbox?

If the new Identity works, then try rebuilding the database in your current
Identity.

Rebuild Info:
If you¹re in Entourage X, first go to Entourage -> Turn Off Office
Notifications. Quit Entourage, and then restart Entourage holding down the
Option key. When the Rebuild dialog box comes up, choose to do a Typical
Rebuild.

More info on rebuilding database here:

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq/database.html>

Diane, I have been researching this further and have found the
following information. This problem seems to have cropped up now and
again. Here is a suggestion from someone who had the same situation.

"Many people have reported such problems if they have a DSL connection
tha tuses PPPoE - especially when using Airport. I often have this
problem and solve it by setting the MTU via the following command in
the Terminal:

sudo ifconfig en1 mtu 1364

which value (e.g. 1364) is good is something that can be determined by
experiment. (Max is 1500, so start there and decrease it til it
works.)"

Does any of this make sense to you, Diane? and if so, I have not yet
attempted working in the Terminal mode, so any assistance in doing
that would be appreciated.

Thanks, Archie

 

[Archie]

Diane, I have been researching this further and have found the
following information. This problem seems to have cropped up now and
again. Here is a suggestion from someone who had the same situation.

"Many people have reported such problems if they have a DSL connection
tha tuses PPPoE - especially when using Airport. I often have this
problem and solve it by setting the MTU via the following command in
the Terminal:

sudo ifconfig en1 mtu 1364

which value (e.g. 1364) is good is something that can be determined by
experiment. (Max is 1500, so start there and decrease it til it
works.)"

Does any of this make sense to you, Diane? and if so, I have not yet
attempted working in the Terminal mode, so any assistance in doing
that would be appreciated.

Thanks, Archie

David,
Eureka! I have solved the mystery. The "MTU" hint in my previous post
got me to thinking and I wondered what was different now verses
pre-DSL. The answer was my Linksys router. I hope you have a router
set up on your DSL line. What you have to do is go into the router
setup, click on the advanced button and at the bottom of the screen is
a setting to enable or disable the MTU. Default seems to be disable. I
enabled it and set the number to the max (1492). I then went back to
entourage and tried sending my large emails, with attachments, and
they all went sailing through! I have no idea what the "MTU" is and if
anyone can enlighten me I would be most appreciative. Good luck,
David. Hope this helps you.
Archie

 

[David F. Boleyn]

Archie,

Please forgive my not getting back to you sooner.

Thanks so _very much_ for your 9/8/03 e-mail. It put me on the right path to
overcoming the problem. Let me share with you some of what I found out along
the way.

David,
Eureka! I have solved the mystery. The "MTU" hint in my previous post
got me to thinking and I wondered what was different now verses
pre-DSL. The answer was my Linksys router. I hope you have a router
set up on your DSL line. What you have to do is go into the router
setup, click on the advanced button and at the bottom of the screen is
a setting to enable or disable the MTU. Default seems to be disable. I
enabled it and set the number to the max (1492). I then went back to
entourage and tried sending my large emails, with attachments, and
they all went sailing through! I have no idea what the "MTU" is and if
anyone can enlighten me I would be most appreciative. Good luck,
David. Hope this helps you.
Archie

The "MTU" hint

Here is the definition of MTU: A "maximum transmission unit" (MTU) is the
largest size packet or frame, specified in octets (eight-bit bytes), that
can be sent in a packet- or frame-based network such as the Internet.

I called verizon.net DSL support to find out what the recommended MTU
setting was for my router. The answer is "1492", as you found out
empirically. In fact, the rep I spoke with said 1492 is the standard setting
for all DSL routers.

I hope you have a router set up on your DSL line.

Indeed I do. I have a NetGear router. I adjusted it's MTU setting to 1492,
but nothing changed. I still couldn't send out an e-mail bigger than 3k. (I
was starting to get mega-frustrated, as I'm sure you can relate to.) Then,
it dawned on me. I've had the NetGear router for about a year. There may be
software updates to address OS 10.2.6 needs.

I went to NetGear's website and, sure enough, there were three firmware
updates since the version I was running. I updated to the most recent one
and ‹ voilà - problem solved!

Interestingly, with the firmware I have installed, the opportunity to modify
the MTU is gone. Perhaps since a standard has evolved, the user no longer
needs to be concerned about the MTU setting. Are you using the latest
software/firmware for your Linksys router? If not, updating may do away with
the MTU problem altogether.

Good luck, David. Hope this helps you.

It sure did, Archie. Many thanks to you, and to Diane. Perhaps we'll crack
some other tough problems together in the future. It sure is gratifying when
you finally nail it.

Take care,

Dave