NetFAQs: Windows - E-mail - Outlook Express

Outlook Express - E-mail Client for Microsoft Windows

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Key Settings:

Key Settings Cookies

Incoming Mail Server = Follows this format: mail.ispname.com (or .net) with your ISP's name substituted for "ispname.com (or .net)".

Outgoing Mail Server = Follows this format: mail.ispname.com (or .net) with your ISP's name substituted for "ispname.com (or .net)".

SMTP Authentication (e-mail username) is required to send e-mail.

Editing existing e-mail accounts:

This tutorial covers how to edit existing e-mail accounts in Outlook Express. Just follow the steps below:

On the Toolbar, click Tools and select Accounts from the menu.

The Internet Accounts window appears.

Select the Mail tab.

Highlight the desired account and click Properties. If you have any extra accounts no longer in use, Remove them.

The following screen appears:

Select the General tab.

Mail Account = You can give the name of the mail account anything you'd like. In this example, I gave the account the name 'Work'.

User Information:

Name = Enter your name.
E-mail address = Enter your e-mail address.

Important: Ensure Include this account when receiving mail or synchronizing is checked.

Select the Servers tab.

Server Information:

My incoming mail server is a POP3 server = This should be set to POP3. If it is not, you'll need to delete the account and recreate it as a POP3 account.

Incoming mail (POP3) = Incoming Server The Incoming (POP3) mail server usually follows this format: mail.ispname.com (or .net). Replace the "ispname.com (or .net)" with your ISP's name. Outgoing mail (SMTP) = Outgoing Server The Outgoing (SMTP) mail server usually follows this format: mail.ispname.com (or .net). Replace the "ispname.com (or .net)" with your ISP's name.

Incoming Mail Server:

Account name = Enter your e-mail username (everything before the @).
Password = Enter the password to your e-mail account.

Select Remember password.

Important: Passwords are case-sensitive. Ensure your Caps Lock is disabled.

Important: Do NOT select "Log on using Secure Password Authentication".

Enabling SMTP Authentication:

SMTP authentication is required to send e-mail. Without this enabled, you cannot send e-mail. You'll probably see error '550' or an error 0x800CCC69 to list a few. SMTP authentication helps deter would-be spammers from spamming you.

Outgoing Mail Server:

Towards the bottom, left corner there is a box: My server requires authentication. Check it.

To the right, click the Settings button.

The following window appears:

Select Log on using.

Account name = Enter your e-mail username (everything before the @).
Password = Enter the password to your e-mail account.

Important: Passwords are case-sensitive. Ensure your Caps Lock is disabled.

Select Remember password.

Important: do NOT select Log on using 'Secure Password Authentication'.

Select the Advanced tab.

Server Timeouts:
You can maximize the this setting to five minutes for improved performance handling larger volumes of e-mail and possibly larger attachments.
Leave a copy of Message on Server: We strongly discourage this option. Outlook Express will eventually start reporting that there are "no new messages" even though there are new messages. If you do use this option, then you should also check one of the boxes below: Remove from server when deleted from 'Deleted Items' or Remove from server after 5 day(s).

Note: Do NOT put a checkmark for the SSL secure connection options unless you are running a virtual domain that is specifically setup with a secure SSL mail server. (This is highly unusual with standard Internet connections.)

Click Apply and then OK to finish the configuration.

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