Completely off topic - I need help.

I have two Windows 10 computers in my house, two iPads and two
iPhones. All of these use the same mail server. On the 6th May my
older W10 machine lost the ability to download mail. It can send but
it can't receive. All other devices continue unchanged.

The affected computer used Thunderbird. Since the problem started I
also switched to the mail server built into Windows 10. It won't work
either. The symptom is that the mail server times out and presumably
is failing to connect. The mail remains on server and can be accessed
by other devices but not this particular computer.

I have spent hours on the phone with my ISP and have tried every
combination of connection that there is including password security
and ports. Nothing works.

I've run out of ideas as to what the problem might be. Any polite
suggestions will be welcome.
--

Regards,

Eric Stevens

On 2017-05-21 01:43:49 +0000, Eric Stevens said:

I have two Windows 10 computers in my house, two iPads and two
iPhones. All of these use the same mail server. On the 6th May my
older W10 machine lost the ability to download mail. It can send but
it can't receive. All other devices continue unchanged.

The affected computer used Thunderbird. Since the problem started I
also switched to the mail server built into Windows 10. It won't work
either. The symptom is that the mail server times out and presumably
is failing to connect. The mail remains on server and can be accessed
by other devices but not this particular computer.

I have spent hours on the phone with my ISP and have tried every
combination of connection that there is including password security
and ports. Nothing works.

I've run out of ideas as to what the problem might be. Any polite
suggestions will be welcome.

Since you have five devices communicating with the ISP server I don't
believe there is much your ISP can do other than make similar
suggestions you might get from us.

I am, as you know not a Windows, or TB user, but would it be worth
trying to go off-line with the other Windows machine and the four iOS
devices? Then attempt to reconnect the ailing Win machine to run TB to
see if it will manage without timing out.

Another thing you might check is which ports the ailing machine is
using, there might be some fixing required there. Perhaps bring it into
sync with the functioning Win machine.
--
Regards,

Savageduck

In article , Eric Stevens
wrote:

I have two Windows 10 computers in my house, two iPads and two
iPhones.

are you actually noah?

All of these use the same mail server. On the 6th May my
older W10 machine lost the ability to download mail. It can send but
it can't receive. All other devices continue unchanged.

something changed with that particular machine.

The affected computer used Thunderbird.

that's likely the problem, if not a major part of it.

does the other win10 computer use thunderbird?

Since the problem started I
also switched to the mail server built into Windows 10. It won't work
either. The symptom is that the mail server times out and presumably
is failing to connect. The mail remains on server and can be accessed
by other devices but not this particular computer.

mail server doesn't mean what you think it means.

what you're describing sounds like a mail *client*.

in the event you do want to run a mail server, hillary clinton isn't
busy at all these days and has extensive experience in setting up mail
servers at home.

I have spent hours on the phone with my ISP and have tried every
combination of connection that there is including password security
and ports. Nothing works.

isp tech support is rarely useful.

I've run out of ideas as to what the problem might be. Any polite
suggestions will be welcome.

compare the settings of each device. every single one. one of them is
not like the others.

you could do a packet trace to see what's being sent and received but
that's probably overkill and a pain in the ass too.

On 5/20/2017 9:43 PM, Eric Stevens wrote:
I have two Windows 10 computers in my house, two iPads and two
iPhones. All of these use the same mail server. On the 6th May my
older W10 machine lost the ability to download mail. It can send but
it can't receive. All other devices continue unchanged.

The affected computer used Thunderbird. Since the problem started I
also switched to the mail server built into Windows 10. It won't work
either. The symptom is that the mail server times out and presumably
is failing to connect. The mail remains on server and can be accessed
by other devices but not this particular computer.

I have spent hours on the phone with my ISP and have tried every
combination of connection that there is including password security
and ports. Nothing works.

I've run out of ideas as to what the problem might be. Any polite
suggestions will be welcome.

Thunderbird's server settings are the likely source of your problem. I
have experienced similar issues at times, and for some reason the
problem is more frequent under Win10 if one is connecting to multiple
email servers. Usually, the problem can be addressed by manually setting
all incoming and outgoing server port and protocol settings to match
your other device settings. The worst-case (but least frequent) scenario
is that the damaged account needs to be deleted in order to force
Thunderbird to reestablish all server connection criteria.

HTH.

--
best regards,

Neil

On 5/20/2017 6:43 PM, Eric Stevens wrote:

snip

I've run out of ideas as to what the problem might be. Any polite
suggestions will be welcome.

Have you tried uninstalling Thunderbird, removing your Profile
(uninstalling does NOT remove the Profile sub-directory) and reinstalling?

I've occasionally had corrupted profiles that require these steps.

Just remove the entire Thunderbird directory after you uninstall the
program. Since it's IMAP it will restore all your mail folders when you
re-install, though you'll have to manually do all your Usenet groups and
start new filters from scratch.

In Windows 10, I found my Thunderbird Profile under User Name
AppData Roaming Thunderbird Profiles.

On Sun, 21 May 2017 13:43:49 +1200, Eric Stevens
wrote:

I have two Windows 10 computers in my house, two iPads and two
iPhones. All of these use the same mail server. On the 6th May my
older W10 machine lost the ability to download mail. It can send but
it can't receive. All other devices continue unchanged.

The affected computer used Thunderbird. Since the problem started I
also switched to the mail server built into Windows 10. It won't work
either. The symptom is that the mail server times out and presumably
is failing to connect. The mail remains on server and can be accessed
by other devices but not this particular computer.

I have spent hours on the phone with my ISP and have tried every
combination of connection that there is including password security
and ports. Nothing works.

I've run out of ideas as to what the problem might be. Any polite
suggestions will be welcome.

Are you using a VPN? If so, try turning it off temporarily. How about
anti-virus? You can try turning that off, along with any firewall you
might be using. Also check you IMAP or POP settings, and make sure
whichever one you're using is using the current correct settings for
that ISP. And if IMAP, make sure your ISP even has that enabled. If it
is, it uses different port numbers than POP. You can usually Google
the correct port numbers for any ISP.

On Sat, 20 May 2017 22:18:33 -0400, nospam
wrote:

In article , Eric Stevens
wrote:

I have two Windows 10 computers in my house, two iPads and two
iPhones.

are you actually noah?

I have two cats also, but they are both neutered toms. Come to think
of we have two Hondas in the house (or in the garage).

All of these use the same mail server. On the 6th May my
older W10 machine lost the ability to download mail. It can send but
it can't receive. All other devices continue unchanged.

something changed with that particular machine.

Yep.

The affected computer used Thunderbird.

that's likely the problem, if not a major part of it.

That's what I thought at first, but first I updated Thunderbird and
then I stripped it right out using Revo Uninstaller and gave it a
completely fresh install. When the problem remained I switched to
using the W10 mail client (I previously accidentally wrote 'mail
server') and it cant connect to my ISP's mail server for receiving
either.

does the other win10 computer use thunderbird?

Nope. It uses 'Agent'.

Since the problem started I
also switched to the mail server built into Windows 10. It won't work
either. The symptom is that the mail server times out and presumably
is failing to connect. The mail remains on server and can be accessed
by other devices but not this particular computer.

mail server doesn't mean what you think it means.

what you're describing sounds like a mail *client*.

I got that wrong. 'Mail Server' means what it says and I've tried both
IMAP and POP3. The 'mail client' (both T Bird and W10) is on my
machine at home.

in the event you do want to run a mail server, hillary clinton isn't
busy at all these days and has extensive experience in setting up mail
servers at home.

I have spent hours on the phone with my ISP and have tried every
combination of connection that there is including password security
and ports. Nothing works.

isp tech support is rarely useful.

I've run out of ideas as to what the problem might be. Any polite
suggestions will be welcome.

compare the settings of each device. every single one. one of them is
not like the others.

My Agent installatiuon is running POP3 while T Bird and whatever they
call the one built into W10 are running IMAP. There are all sorts of
combination of security and ports (both default and non-standard) and
I have tried all that anyone can think of.

you could do a packet trace to see what's being sent and received but
that's probably overkill and a pain in the ass too.

It's still a good idea. I find I get strange results if I try
'tracert'. These are complicated by having to find their way through
my home network. I will follow this up further.
--

Regards,

Eric Stevens

On Sat, 20 May 2017 22:43:11 -0400, Neil
wrote:

On 5/20/2017 9:43 PM, Eric Stevens wrote:
I have two Windows 10 computers in my house, two iPads and two
iPhones. All of these use the same mail server. On the 6th May my
older W10 machine lost the ability to download mail. It can send but
it can't receive. All other devices continue unchanged.

The affected computer used Thunderbird. Since the problem started I
also switched to the mail server built into Windows 10. It won't work
either. The symptom is that the mail server times out and presumably
is failing to connect. The mail remains on server and can be accessed
by other devices but not this particular computer.

I have spent hours on the phone with my ISP and have tried every
combination of connection that there is including password security
and ports. Nothing works.

I've run out of ideas as to what the problem might be. Any polite
suggestions will be welcome.

Thunderbird's server settings are the likely source of your problem. I
have experienced similar issues at times, and for some reason the
problem is more frequent under Win10 if one is connecting to multiple
email servers. Usually, the problem can be addressed by manually setting
all incoming and outgoing server port and protocol settings to match
your other device settings. The worst-case (but least frequent) scenario
is that the damaged account needs to be deleted in order to force
Thunderbird to reestablish all server connection criteria.

HTH.

See my reply to nospam.
--

Regards,

Eric Stevens

On Sat, 20 May 2017 19:44:50 -0700, sms
wrote:

On 5/20/2017 6:43 PM, Eric Stevens wrote:

snip

I've run out of ideas as to what the problem might be. Any polite
suggestions will be welcome.

Have you tried uninstalling Thunderbird, removing your Profile
(uninstalling does NOT remove the Profile sub-directory) and reinstalling?

All but removing the profile. But that shouldn't affect the W10
client.

I've occasionally had corrupted profiles that require these steps.

Just remove the entire Thunderbird directory after you uninstall the
program. Since it's IMAP it will restore all your mail folders when you
re-install, though you'll have to manually do all your Usenet groups and
start new filters from scratch.

Thank hedavens I use Agent on the other machine for newsgroups.

In Windows 10, I found my Thunderbird Profile under User Name
AppData Roaming Thunderbird Profiles.
--

Regards,

Eric Stevens

On Sat, 20 May 2017 20:05:11 -0700, Bill W
wrote:

On Sun, 21 May 2017 13:43:49 +1200, Eric Stevens
wrote:

I have two Windows 10 computers in my house, two iPads and two
iPhones. All of these use the same mail server. On the 6th May my
older W10 machine lost the ability to download mail. It can send but
it can't receive. All other devices continue unchanged.

The affected computer used Thunderbird. Since the problem started I
also switched to the mail server built into Windows 10. It won't work
either. The symptom is that the mail server times out and presumably
is failing to connect. The mail remains on server and can be accessed
by other devices but not this particular computer.

I have spent hours on the phone with my ISP and have tried every
combination of connection that there is including password security
and ports. Nothing works.

I've run out of ideas as to what the problem might be. Any polite
suggestions will be welcome.

Are you using a VPN?

Nope.

If so, try turning it off temporarily. How about
anti-virus? You can try turning that off, along with any firewall you
might be using.

McAfee. Tried that. Didn't help.

Also check you IMAP or POP settings, and make sure
whichever one you're using is using the current correct settings for
that ISP.

Tried all their standard and non-standard settings.

And if IMAP, make sure your ISP even has that enabled.

Both IMAP and POP. I understand iPads etc will not work with POP.

If it
is, it uses different port numbers than POP. You can usually Google
the correct port numbers for any ISP.

Tried all that. That's why I'm asking for help.
--

Regards,

Eric Stevens