Outlook - can receive message but not send messages

[KenC]

Status: Windows XP Pro, Office 2003 (all SPs loaded)

I recently changed from dial-up to broadband. Having set up my computer I
was able to surf the net okay but when I tried to send and receive emails for
Outlook it just timed out or gave me an error message about SMTP not being
recognised. I then installed Mozilla Thunderbird and imported the Outlook
settings. I was surprised to see that Thunderbird pickup up an old e-mail
address and SMTP settings rather than my current settings. I corrected these
settings (2 accounts) and everything worked okay.

I returned to Outlook and checked the account settings again (they were
okay) but I could still not send emails. In desperation I backed up my mail
and addresses, etc and uninstalled/reinstalled Outlook (using my Office
2003CD) but Outlook simply found my old accounts. Therefore I deleted both
my email accounts, rebooted my computer and then re-entered my email
accounts. Outlook now works okay. - I can send and receive emails.

Incidentally, there are lots of postings on the web about Outlook having
such problems with SMTP settings and so my problems were not an isolated
case. My ISP also said that the problem was with MS Outlook. The fact that
Mozilla Thunderbird worked (after correcting imported settings) appears to
bear this out.

In short, Outlook appears to have got confused about my email account
settings when I changed from dial-up to broadband. Is there a more elegant
way (rather than uninstalling/re-installing) to clear accounts from Outlook
so that Outlook starts from a clean sheet? Is it necessary to clear out the
Registry for example?

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

Tools->options->mail settings->view or change would have done it for you.
You could also use the TEst Account Settings feature found further in this
dialog to determine if your send receive settings work. By the way, most
ISPs now require you to authenticate to their server before your
send/receive will work properly. Check your ISP FAQs for the exact
requirements. This is where Outlook will normally fail if it has not been
set to authenticate.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. Due to
the (insert latest virus name here) virus, all mail sent to my personal
account will be deleted without reading.

After furious head scratching, KenC asked:

| Status: Windows XP Pro, Office 2003 (all SPs loaded)
|
| I recently changed from dial-up to broadband. Having set up my
| computer I was able to surf the net okay but when I tried to send and
| receive emails for Outlook it just timed out or gave me an error
| message about SMTP not being recognised. I then installed Mozilla
| Thunderbird and imported the Outlook settings. I was surprised to
| see that Thunderbird pickup up an old e-mail address and SMTP
| settings rather than my current settings. I corrected these settings
| (2 accounts) and everything worked okay.
|
| I returned to Outlook and checked the account settings again (they
| were okay) but I could still not send emails. In desperation I
| backed up my mail and addresses, etc and uninstalled/reinstalled
| Outlook (using my Office 2003CD) but Outlook simply found my old
| accounts. Therefore I deleted both my email accounts, rebooted my
| computer and then re-entered my email accounts. Outlook now works
| okay. - I can send and receive emails.
|
| Incidentally, there are lots of postings on the web about Outlook
| having such problems with SMTP settings and so my problems were not
| an isolated case. My ISP also said that the problem was with MS
| Outlook. The fact that Mozilla Thunderbird worked (after correcting
| imported settings) appears to bear this out.
|
| In short, Outlook appears to have got confused about my email account
| settings when I changed from dial-up to broadband. Is there a more
| elegant way (rather than uninstalling/re-installing) to clear
| accounts from Outlook so that Outlook starts from a clean sheet? Is
| it necessary to clear out the Registry for example?

 

[KenC]

As I said earlier, my Outlook accounts worked fine after I
uninstall/rebooted/installed and re-entered my two accounts. I have checked
the authentication settings on these accounts and they are both set to not
require authentication. Hence it looks as if my ISP (OneTel) does not
require SMTP authentication. They certainly did not mention this when I
phoned their help desk in the early stages of my problem.

So, its not SMTP authentication that caused the problem. Any other ideas?
Also, is there any way of 'clearing out' the Outlook accounts so that it
starts from scratch?