[oldrelic]

I just set up outlook on this machine. It had outlook express on it but that didn't work and neither does outlook. I have checked all the settings and every time I try to log in it asks me for my username and password. I have double checked and all is correct as near as I can figure. Can anyone help me figure this out?

oldrelic

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Hi, oldrelic. Welcome to Geeks to Go!

Please bear with me while I ask some questions to get a better feel for what you've got going on.

1. Please confirm your operating system, including service packs.

2. What versions of Outlook Express and Outlook are you running?

3. Has your email ever worked properly using OE or OL in your current setup? If so, what might have happened to break it?

4. Are you logging into Windows with a username that is in the Administrator security group? Are you using the default "administrator" user account or one of your very own?

5. Do you have antivirus and a firewall? Have you tried disabling them temporarily?

[piper]

Hi, oldrelic. Welcome to Geeks to Go!

Please bear with me while I ask some questions to get a better feel for what you've got going on.

1. Please confirm your operating system, including service packs.

2. What versions of Outlook Express and Outlook are you running?

3. Has your email ever worked properly using OE or OL in your current setup? If so, what might have happened to break it?

4. Are you logging into Windows with a username that is in the Administrator security group? Are you using the default "administrator" user account or one of your very own?

5. Do you have antivirus and a firewall? Have you tried disabling them temporarily?

[moondog830]

Hi LindaGail,

I am a friend of oldrelics and I was trying to help her out with this problem. She is more of a computer novice than I am, so if you don't mind I will answer your questions for her.

1. Please confirm your operating system, including service packs.
Her Operating System is XP and includes Service Pack 2

2. What versions of Outlook Express and Outlook are you running?
I am not sure what version of OE it is, but the computer is just a little over 2 years old. The version of OL is 2003.

3. Has your email ever worked properly using OE or OL in your current setup? If so, what might have happened to break it?
The e-mail on the machine in question to her and my knowledge has never worked properly. Her other machine is using Win98 with OE on it (not sure what version) and the same settings as I put into the machine in question and it works fine.

4. Are you logging into Windows with a username that is in the Administrator security group? Are you using the default "administrator" user account or one of your very own?
No, there is no logging into windows .... she just boots up the machine and away we go.

5. Do you have antivirus and a firewall? Have you tried disabling them temporarily?
There was no working antivirus on the machine when I went over to help her set one up and it didn't work then. The only firewall that is/was on the machine is the one from Microsoft. I did not attempt to disable it as I didn't consider it a problem since all of my machines work fine with that firewall on them. I put AVG on the machine for her today.

I do appreciate your help .... any other questions?

dog

[piper]

Hi, moondog830. I appreciate your help.

What pops out at me is the answer to #5. We need to get an antivirus installed, updated, and the system scanned asap.

Here's a list of reliable freeware antivirus:
a-squared - http://www.emsisoft..../software/free/
AntiVir - http://www.free-av.com/
Avast - http://www.avast.com...ast_4_home.html
BitDefender - http://www.bitdefender.com
ClamWin - http://www.clamwin.com/

Next, I think we'll try setting up a new Outlook (not Outlook Express) mail profile. Close Outlook. Click Start, Control Panel, Mail, Show Profiles. On the General tab, click Add to create a new e-email profile. Give the new profile a new, then click next until you get to the Server Type screen. Check your e-mail type. Fill in all your e-mail account settings. When you get back to the General tab, change Outlook's start-up option to "Prompt for a profile to be used". This will ensure you start with the new profile when you re-open Outlook. If you're not prompted, reboot and then open Outlook. Can you now send/receive without any errors?

If not, let's try logging into Windows with a different User Account. In Windows, click Start, Run, and type in control userpasswords2. This will bring up a list of User Accounts. How many are there? You should see Administrator (the default user Windows sets up during installation) plus any additional accounts that have been added. We'll need oldrelic to sign into Windows using a different account than she normally uses. If there's only Administrator, then we'll need to add a new account.

To create a new user account:

• Go to Control Panel.
• Click User Accounts tool.
• Select the Create A New Account link.
• Give the account a name and click Next.

NOTE: Ensure that the account type is Computer Administrator (You can see the option button displayed in the process.)

• Click Create Account button.
• Reboot the computer. Log in with the new user account.

Now open Outlook and configure her mail account. Can you now send/receive without errors?

I think that's enough for now. Please post back the results.

[moondog830]

I put AVG on this machine and ran it ... and it found nothing.

But, it is not one of the Anti-Virus programs you mentioned .... is it NOT considered
reliable?

Also, I just got an e-mail from oldrelice regarding your last message and she went
to Start -- Control Panel -- Mail .......... but she says there is NO MAIL there. She
says this is what is in her control panel.

Accessibility options Add hardware Add or remove Administrative tools
Automatic updates Date and time Display Folder options
Fonts Game controllers Internet options Java
Keyboard Mouse Network connections Network set up-wizard
NVIDIA n view Phone & Modem Portable media devices Power options
Printers & faxes Quick time Real player Reallek HD sound eff
Regional & language Scanners & Cameras Scheduled tasks Security center
Sound & audio devices Speech System Taskbar & start menu
User accounts Windows firewall Wireless network set

So, what has happened now?

dog

Edited by moondog830, 13 March 2007 - 03:56 PM.

[piper]

AVG is good. I took it off of my list of freeware because I thought they were discontinuing the free version.

Have you had time to do those other suggestions?


Edited spelling

Edited by LindaGail, 13 March 2007 - 03:50 PM.

[moondog830]

Haven't gotten to the other stuff yet .... she's not home and I can't go over to her house today or tomorrow

dog

[piper]

No problem.

[moondog830]

Before I left her house the other day, I had downloaded Incredimail Xe to install to see if maybe we could get that to work.

She gets a message that says to finish the install, she must reboot the computer and she has done that at least 5 times and still
can't get that to work so tonight I asked her to go to Add/Remove Programs to Remove it and it can't be removed as she gets the
message that it is not completely installed.

So that didn't work either.

She will now try to log in under a different username etc as in your post.

Will keep you posted.

[piper]

Hey moondog and oldrelic! Not being able to install Incredimail is odd - especially on top of the original problem. I would like you to get a second opinion regarding the possibility of infection. Go to Trend Micro or Panda Software for a free online virus scan. If anything shows up, please visit the Malware forum. Start here.

I think it would be beneficial to run System File Checker (SFC). It can fix certain issues in Windows where specific system files get corrupted, deleted, or infected. Basically the System File Protection watches the system files and checks their integrity against it's knowledge of what these files are supposed to look like. Generally if a system file get's "messed with" windows will let you know and give you the option to dissallow the change, sometimes you don't get this option though. The System File Checker is a command line utility that will initiate a scan of all the system files to make sure they are in their original state, present on the system, and or working properly. It's an easy tool to use but the user HAS to have an XP disk for it to work.

Do you have a valid XP cd?

If so, place it in your CD ROM drive and follow the instructions below

Start > Run > cmd then type

sfc /scannow (note the space)

Allow this to run until you get a message saying it is complete.

SFC - system file checker, retrieves the correct version of the file from %Systemroot%\System32\Dllcache or the Windows installation source files, and then replaces the incorrect file.

Please keep us updated.

[moondog830]

Okay, now we're at a standstill as oldrelic's computer suffered the blue screen of death and she will have to take it in to be repaired.

Will keep you posted.

dog