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The Kitchen Table

Need Computer Help, Please

15 years ago

I know I could post on the computer forum but this usually is much faster.

I have windows XP and use Outlook Express.

Yesterday I sent an email to a friend and she replied - not a new email-, I replied to that one in the same manner and she replied again asking for an address. I sent that to her and everything still seemed fine. I went back later to check my email and there were a couple of copies of the last email that she had sent me. It said it was recieving mail and it showed that it was receiving message 4 of 17. It seemsed stuck on this 4th one. Later when I tried to check, I had to restart the computer to open Outlook Express. That happened several times throughout the evening. This morning it is the same thing, except now saying it is trying to open message 4 of 77. There are now 6 copies of this last email and in my deleted folder there are 6 messages but actually only 2, as each one has 3 copies.

Can anyone tell me what I can do to fix this? We are totally confused and have never seen this before.

I will be so pleased if one of you kind people can assist.

Everything else on the computer seems to be working just fine, thank goodness.

Thanks in advance.

ivamae

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Comments (7)

threejs
15 years ago
It might just have been your server and the mail program that you are using. If you have rebooted your computer, try turning it off....then pulling the connection from your modem and giving it a couple of minutes then plug it back in and turn your computer back on again. It has been a while (couple of years ..since this happened to me and I am sure it was what the tech at our internet service had me do before anything else.
secsteve
15 years ago
Post this on the computer forum. Those folks are real great at helping a person solve problems.
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monica_pa Grieves
15 years ago
Switch to Thunderbird.
It's free, from Mozilla, distributors of Firefox,.
ivamae
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the replies. I have now put it on the computer forum but thought this might be quicker.

threejs, we tried that but it didn't help. Worth trying anyway.

We're stumped, so hope someone has more sugestions.

Thanks.

ivamae
User
15 years ago
If you can access your email from your server, you can fix the problem there. I use Telus for my internet and this happens often. The problem is with them, not Outlook or my operating system. There should be a link for "webmail" on your servers website. Just go there and open your mail, delete whatever is 'stuck'. You can either read and reply to your emails there, or close the site and then try to download your emails through OE. I find as long as I have my email open on my servers website, I can't download my email so I have to close it down. Rebooting never works. It happens with XP and Vista so I'm sure it's not an operating system problem. It could be someone is sending you something that's too big and it won't download.
donna37
15 years ago
Like Debby said, I go to my server and check e-mail deleting a bunch and can tell the really big ones that take forever to download and just delete them before letting OE download the rest for me to read later.

I had that problem with umpteen downloading the same thing and nothing else and was stumped. Called the guy that runs our local ISP and he told me to go to the server and dumb me didn't even know I could do that:( After he gave me some simple instructions I was okay and since then, that's what I do and can delete unwanted, looonnng e-mails. Since I'm on dial up, those movies and such they forward take too darn long to download and I just delete them. Doesn't do any good to tell my friends not to send them, they never listen to me.
ivamae
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks everyone. I didn't know you could see them on the server, either. We got it fixed and hopefully all will be well, now.

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