Mail.app - cannot send mail

Jacques · 05-29-2003, 04:31 PM

I have Mail.app and Eudora configured properly with the exact same account. Both retrieve mail correctly.

Short email text messages can take anywhere between 10 seconds to two minutes to send properly through Eudora, but it never fails. I simply let it do it's thing in the background while I'm working on something else.

Why Eudora? It works.

I'd prefer to use Mail.app, however it fails to send ANY email 95% of the time. Giving one of several errors or simply timing out asking for the password to be repeated.

I've had this problem since I purchased Puma shortly after it arrived on the scene. Every Mail.app update since has had the same results.

I use an .Mac SMTP server to send mail.

Where should I start?

thanks, Jacques

yellow · 05-29-2003, 04:38 PM

Interesting. I've never had any troubles sending mail through my .Mac account and I've been using Mail(.app) as my primary mail client since 10.1 as well. Are you IMAPing or POPing?

I'd be interested to see some of the error messages, especially from the Console and System.log.

Jacques · 05-29-2003, 04:41 PM

.Mac is IMAP only, as far as I know.

I suspect my ISP for the problem, although upload speeds are normal. There's no other variables I can think of.

Eudora probably works correctly because it may be more persistant at getting through, it's still very slow. Mail.app is probably a bit lazier at it's approach and gives up too soon.

Puzzled.

--

edit - I'll post info from the Console and System.log soon.

yellow · 05-29-2003, 04:42 PM

ah.. .Mac does support POP. Try creating a new User with your .Mac info, but a POP account. I think you'll find it faster. *crosses fingers*

jbc · 05-29-2003, 05:25 PM

I switched my .Mac email to use POP, and it does seem significantly faster at retrieving mail.

However, Jacques is having problems with *sending* mail, which would seem to have nothing to do with whether IMAP or POP is being used. I use Mail.app and personally have never had any troubles with the .Mac smtp being slow or causing errors.

Could it be possible that installing Eudora has changed something in the email configuration on the machine that is causing troubles for Mail.app? Don't use Eudora, so have no idea whether this is really likely or not.

tlarkin · 05-29-2003, 06:23 PM

Try making a new user account and test your mail app with the new user account and see what happens.

yellow · 05-29-2003, 06:24 PM

It's not likely. I have both installed.

I guess you're right about IMAP vs. POP and sending mail since it's going to connect to port 25 (sendmail) either way.

How much preference removal have you tried? Any firewall action going on?

Jacques · 06-04-2003, 10:13 AM

jbc is correct, my problem is with sending mail not receiving it. I did take your suggestion and POP mail is much faster, also allowing for better email handling while off-line. Thanks for the tip, I was always under the impression that .Mac mail was IMAP only.

I redid the SMTP accounts in all my email programs, even trying GyMail (sp?). Again only Eudora is patient enough to send mail successfully, every other program either hangs or gives one kind of an error or another - really the email client's guess with no real help.

No firewall, yellow.

---

I may not be using a Mac OS X machine again for a while, so I can't post logs at this time - my access now is more or less restricted to work. They make us use NT boxes here, please no laughing.. :)

If I get some logs, I'll post them - it could be SOME time.

cheers, Jacques

tlarkin · 06-04-2003, 11:23 AM

If you can receive mail just fine but not send it, do you think its possible you have problems with your SMTP server?

yellow · 06-04-2003, 11:27 AM

nah.. his SMTP server is Mac.com.. and Eudora works 'just fine'. However you indicate it's a little on the slow side even with Eudora. I think you are correct in your thought that it's your ISP. I can't understand how it could be Mail.app. They all use the same protocols and all talk to the SMTP server the same way. So odd..

Jacques · 06-04-2003, 12:17 PM

Yup, that's my conclusion.

My ISP is 100% free, totally and with no catch - so I've been using it for about four years now with not one bill! I can't afford to pay for an ISP, so I'm stuck.

I believe the reason why Eudora works is because it has LONG timeout periods. It's slow, but these other apps are giving up before it can complete.

The recent release Eudora 6 even has a control panel to lengthen or shorten the timeouts, it's become even MORE configurable.

---

Possible solutions?

One day I may come across an SMTP server that works (perhaps using a friends?), no time for that now though. I did try to enable SENDMAIL in the past so that I can be my own SMTP server - however I do not have a DNS (so many email jump-points may strike down my emails as spam, from what I understand) nor the tech understanding to implement it correctly.

I sure tried, but SENDMAIL for me is tough. UNIX is no simple mind, although it's fun to figure out.

Jacques

yellow · 06-04-2003, 12:26 PM

Version 8.9.x and later of sendmail will by default (unless disabled) drop any email that comes from a machine that doesn't resolve to a DNS name. So if your machine doesn't resolve to a name, your thought is correct. Either way, with the same ISP, it's possible you'd be in the same boat I think trying to send email even from your own sendmail running locally.

Jacques · 06-04-2003, 12:31 PM

Before my brother went to DSL, I used his Earthlink SMTP server with this same ISP and never had a problem.

I don't know what the difference could be, since I'm not sure how SMTP servers differ from one another.

--

To be honest, for home use - I'm going back to letters and stamps! People love the real thing, handwritten and all.. :)

05-29-2003, 04:31 PM	#1
Jacques All Star Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: New York, NY Posts: 972	Mail.app - cannot send mail I have Mail.app and Eudora configured properly with the exact same account. Both retrieve mail correctly. Short email text messages can take anywhere between 10 seconds to two minutes to send properly through Eudora, but it never fails. I simply let it do it's thing in the background while I'm working on something else. Why Eudora? It works. I'd prefer to use Mail.app, however it fails to send ANY email 95% of the time. Giving one of several errors or simply timing out asking for the password to be repeated. I've had this problem since I purchased Puma shortly after it arrived on the scene. Every Mail.app update since has had the same results. I use an .Mac SMTP server to send mail. Where should I start? thanks, Jacques

05-29-2003, 06:23 PM	#6
tlarkin League Commissioner Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 11,352	Try making a new user account and test your mail app with the new user account and see what happens. __________________ sudo make me a sammich

06-04-2003, 11:23 AM	#9
tlarkin League Commissioner Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 11,352	If you can receive mail just fine but not send it, do you think its possible you have problems with your SMTP server? __________________ sudo make me a sammich

05-29-2003, 04:38 PM	#2
yellow Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 10,677	Interesting. I've never had any troubles sending mail through my .Mac account and I've been using Mail(.app) as my primary mail client since 10.1 as well. Are you IMAPing or POPing? I'd be interested to see some of the error messages, especially from the Console and System.log.

05-29-2003, 04:41 PM	#3
Jacques All Star Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: New York, NY Posts: 972	.Mac is IMAP only, as far as I know. I suspect my ISP for the problem, although upload speeds are normal. There's no other variables I can think of. Eudora probably works correctly because it may be more persistant at getting through, it's still very slow. Mail.app is probably a bit lazier at it's approach and gives up too soon. Puzzled. -- edit - I'll post info from the Console and System.log soon.

05-29-2003, 04:42 PM	#4
yellow Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 10,677	ah.. .Mac does support POP. Try creating a new User with your .Mac info, but a POP account. I think you'll find it faster. crosses fingers

05-29-2003, 05:25 PM	#5
jbc All Star Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Chico, CA Posts: 686	I switched my .Mac email to use POP, and it does seem significantly faster at retrieving mail. However, Jacques is having problems with sending mail, which would seem to have nothing to do with whether IMAP or POP is being used. I use Mail.app and personally have never had any troubles with the .Mac smtp being slow or causing errors. Could it be possible that installing Eudora has changed something in the email configuration on the machine that is causing troubles for Mail.app? Don't use Eudora, so have no idea whether this is really likely or not.

05-29-2003, 06:24 PM	#7
yellow Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 10,677	It's not likely. I have both installed. I guess you're right about IMAP vs. POP and sending mail since it's going to connect to port 25 (sendmail) either way. How much preference removal have you tried? Any firewall action going on?

06-04-2003, 10:13 AM	#8
Jacques All Star Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: New York, NY Posts: 972	jbc is correct, my problem is with sending mail not receiving it. I did take your suggestion and POP mail is much faster, also allowing for better email handling while off-line. Thanks for the tip, I was always under the impression that .Mac mail was IMAP only. I redid the SMTP accounts in all my email programs, even trying GyMail (sp?). Again only Eudora is patient enough to send mail successfully, every other program either hangs or gives one kind of an error or another - really the email client's guess with no real help. No firewall, yellow. --- I may not be using a Mac OS X machine again for a while, so I can't post logs at this time - my access now is more or less restricted to work. They make us use NT boxes here, please no laughing.. :) If I get some logs, I'll post them - it could be SOME time. cheers, Jacques

06-04-2003, 11:27 AM	#10
yellow Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 10,677	nah.. his SMTP server is Mac.com.. and Eudora works 'just fine'. However you indicate it's a little on the slow side even with Eudora. I think you are correct in your thought that it's your ISP. I can't understand how it could be Mail.app. They all use the same protocols and all talk to the SMTP server the same way. So odd..

06-04-2003, 12:17 PM	#11
Jacques All Star Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: New York, NY Posts: 972	Yup, that's my conclusion. My ISP is 100% free, totally and with no catch - so I've been using it for about four years now with not one bill! I can't afford to pay for an ISP, so I'm stuck. I believe the reason why Eudora works is because it has LONG timeout periods. It's slow, but these other apps are giving up before it can complete. The recent release Eudora 6 even has a control panel to lengthen or shorten the timeouts, it's become even MORE configurable. --- Possible solutions? One day I may come across an SMTP server that works (perhaps using a friends?), no time for that now though. I did try to enable SENDMAIL in the past so that I can be my own SMTP server - however I do not have a DNS (so many email jump-points may strike down my emails as spam, from what I understand) nor the tech understanding to implement it correctly. I sure tried, but SENDMAIL for me is tough. UNIX is no simple mind, although it's fun to figure out. Jacques

06-04-2003, 12:26 PM	#12
yellow Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 10,677	Version 8.9.x and later of sendmail will by default (unless disabled) drop any email that comes from a machine that doesn't resolve to a DNS name. So if your machine doesn't resolve to a name, your thought is correct. Either way, with the same ISP, it's possible you'd be in the same boat I think trying to send email even from your own sendmail running locally.

06-04-2003, 12:31 PM	#13
Jacques All Star Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: New York, NY Posts: 972	Before my brother went to DSL, I used his Earthlink SMTP server with this same ISP and never had a problem. I don't know what the difference could be, since I'm not sure how SMTP servers differ from one another. -- To be honest, for home use - I'm going back to letters and stamps! People love the real thing, handwritten and all.. :)