Email problems

Hi,
I have been knocking my head against the wall trying to figure out why when someone sends a friend of mine an email, they receive the following message "Persistent transient failure" ... This particular computer is a Windows 98, has Comcast as it's ISP, and has Outlook Express configured to forward all emails to Incredible mail. Since we both have the same ISP, I have made sure all settings, pop/smtp, address, etc, etc are in it's appropriate places. I first thought the problem was due to the In-box exceeding it's capacity to store messages. I then changed Norton Virus to "not" scan in-coming and out-going emails. Neither has remedied the problem as it continues regardless. I am at a lost as to what I may look for next. Your assistance will once again be appreciated...

 

I'm not familiar with Comcast mail, but if they have web based, I would go to the Comcast inbox(not OE) and look there. That one may be full. Your failure described below:

"Soft Bounce ": A "soft" bounce occurs if the mail server recognizes the address but can't deliver the message, either because the mailbox is full, the server is down or breaks the connection, or the user has abandoned the mailbox.

An email can also soft-bounce if the sender's mail server doesn't understand why the receiving mail server refused the the message. Soft bounces often can be temporary problems - the connection breaks during the relay, too many messages swamp the server or the like. Most mail servers will retry messages that soft-bounce, but delivery isn't certain.

"Persistent transient failure" is another way to describe this, according to the official RFC 1893 document "Enhanced Mail Status Codes." It breaks down messages transmission into Success, Persistent Transient Failure and Permanent Failure.

BTW, I don't think this is a Win98 issue.

 

Hi,
I kind of put the error message and soft bounce together (along with the hard bounce info) but figured there was one more step I needed to do but could not put my finger on it. Your suggestion about checking the In-box of Outlook Express is a very good suggestion. Even thou I cleaned out the In-box of Inceredible Mail, for some reason (I guess it was to obvious) I did not think to check the In-box of Outlook Express. I will today and report back to you this evening...Thanks

 

You missed a step. The first inbox that the mail is gonna hit is Comcast, then OE, then Incred. I don't think this has anything to do with the mail being forwarded. It's sounds like it's being bounced from Comcast.

 

You're right...I did not think anything would be saved in Outlook Express since the mail was set up to be directed to Incredible. Another good lesson learned. I'll let you know later today how everything went...Thanks for your help once again...

 

HI,
I just realized how you mentioned checking Comcast before Outlook, for some reason those two ran together as I read it. Even thou I'm not sure if we are on the same page regarding Comcast, I like to famalerize you briefly with it so it does not seem like I am totally over looking your suggestion. Comcast is similiar to AOL and Yahoo to name a couple. Except Comcast is a Hi-Speed (Broadband Connection). I have it here at my house and do not know of any In-box to check. So hopefully that will show why I keep saying I'll check Outlook Express In-box.

 

I went up Comcast.com site. It states there that you can check your mail from any internet connection. So that tells me that it does have web-based mail. I would go to their site, look for login info, then mail check, or something like that.

 

I use Comcast also, and they do have web based email. If I remember correctly, account is set up automatically when obtaining their service, so inbox might well be full if you've never been there.

 

Okay...I am familiar with that as I have the same service at my home. I just called my friend to have them check Outlook Express In-box and check the delete section. After all that is cleared out, I will try sending another email and see if I get the same response. I'm pretty sure now that you have mentioned checking Outlook Express (something I did not figure in), that is where the problem lies...I will post back this evening...Your help as always, greatly appreciated...

 

Just checked my wifes comcast account. She had forgotten about having one. It was half full of emails that never made it to her other mail accounts. Better check Comcast!

 

Good work and I will...

 

Update...We deleted all saved messages in Outlook Express (which were only a few or so), and deleted (several and then some) from Incredible mail and all is fine now. It's amazing how some times the obvious is not so obvious. As usual, another great assist has been provided and I thank you...

 

MasterGreen: Im just curious. Did you ever have your friend check his Comcast email account. I see several suggestions that he do so, but I see nothing in your replies to indicate he did.

 

Hi,
No i did not until this morning. I am awaiting the call back on that. i was saving that "question" as a last resort...Will post back now that question has been raised and advise as soon as I hear...

Thanks

 

Sometimes, the "moles" (secret snitches at SpamCop), or
"spamtrap" (secret email addresses at SpamCop) will cause
a Server to be "blacklisted" - sometimes for no "legitimate "
reason. Check at http://www.dnsbl.info/ to check this out.

 

Howdy,
I went into the Comcast.mail account and nothing was set up for the mail to be saved on the server but I did come across the settings for Incredible mail and made a couple of changes according to how Comcast recommended the settings to be. Which I found by going into the Comcast home page, clicked on help, then email, then Incridible mail. It has been over 3 hrs since I made the changes plus sent an email and so far no "Persistent transient Failure" messages have appeared back on my computer. So I am praying that we are on the road to recovery. It just amazes me how something is working fine one day and the next it's helter skelter. I guess thats why I love troubleshooting peoples computers, the challenges are many and interesting. I will keep you posted...

 

I guess when someone wishes for a little good luck, one never gets it. The same problem is happening, and I am really confused as to why. Any more suggestions out there please send them along...Thanks

 

Did you check to make sure the Server is not "blacklisted ".
When SpamCop "blacklists" it does so for 48 hrs., and if there
are another 2 complaints the Server get's it for another 48 hrs.

 

I still think the issue is with Comcast, not OE or incredimail. The error message is coming from the senders ISP. OE doesn't send anything back, and I believe Incredimail doesn't either. Is this from one perticular sender, or more??

 

At this point, I would disable OE and Incredimail and take them completely out of the loop, then send mail to the comcast account. I would bet you probably will still get the error. So I still think the issue is with Comcast.

On a second note, why does your friend use OE to check mail, then forward to Incredimail.. Sounds like a duplication of efforts.