Win 7 Suddenly folders are empty and cannot receive or send- SMTP error
Classic- my 97 year old father in law's POP3 email stopped working 3 days ago. His folders are all empty and he gets a message every time he tries to connect saying that the SMTP failed. He has Earthlink for an ISP and I checked his Web Mail Acct and it is fine so it is not them. I have gone on a remote chat with the ISP and they found nothing wrong with the settings (neither had I). Yet, nothing works.
I maintain fully updated Malwarebytes and Windows Security Essentials (virus) monitoring 24/7 and ran scans that are clean.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Lar
Modified by Larbo
All Replies (7)
The next step is
- Restart Thunderbird with add-ons disabled (Thunderbird Safe Mode). On the Help menu, click on "Restart with Add-ons Disabled". If Thunderbird works like normal, there is an Add-on or Theme interfering with normal operations. You will need to re-enable add-ons one at a time until you locate the offender.
- Restart the operating system in safe mode with Networking. This loads only the very basics needed to start your computer while enabling an Internet connection. Click on your operating system for instructions on how to start in safe mode: Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, OSX
- If safe mode for the operating system fixes the issue, there's other software in your computer that's causing problems. Possibilities include but not limited to: AV scanning, virus/malware, background downloads such as program updates.
Hey Matt, I will get over to his place in a couple of days and let you know. THANKS!! Lar
HI Matt,
Neither Windows or T-Bird safe mode helped. I got Earthlink on a remote chat and they concur that all the settings are right. I guess, next I have to shut off MSE and Malwarebytes, and see what happens. Those are not likely, however. What would I do next if those do not pan out? Thanks, Lar
Try to telnet to the server. It will not fix it, but if you can not do it then the cause is definitely external to Thunderbird.
These two links explain the telnet process pretty well. http://www.wikihow.com/Send-Email-Using-Telnet https://workaround.org/ispmail/lenny/test-mail-through-telnet
You can also log the connection.
https://wiki.mozilla.org/MailNews:Logging
This will give detailed results on exactly what is happening in the connection and conversation.
You might also check using the Command prompt command ping that the server is reachable.
Since I also use the same ISP, I tried it from my home. I installed telnet and ran the instruction. Earthlink does not like unsolicited email requests and refused it. Won't ping either. Am I missing something?
Modified by Larbo
any suggestions? Thx
What if a uninstall, and re-install Thunderbird? Will it save the address book or do I have to copy it and reinstall that afterwards.