> Hi everyone. I use the pop daemon from qmail (qmail-pop3d) and the
> Outlook Express program is making me crazy. I looked for a solution in the
> archives, but i didn't find it. My problem is:
>
> My clients use Microshit Outlook Express and i'm having a lot of error
> messages from qmail pop server:
>
> Your server has unexpectedly terminated the connection. Possible causes
> for this include server problems, network problems, or a long period of
> inactivity. Account: 'infomoney', Server: 'mail.infomoney.com.br',
> Protocol: POP3,
> Port: 110, Secure(SSL): No, Error Number: 0x800CCC0F
>
I don't think you will ever find the solution to this problem on this list.
Unfortunately, the attitude of many of the people on this list is that if it
concerns a Microsoft product, even if it concerns the way it interacts with
qmail, it is a non-problem. And basically they are right. The
closed-source nature of Microsoft products makes it impossible for anyone
but Microsoft to correct or even identify the problem.
I do resent the people that say the solution is to use a better mail client.
That is like saying the cure to sunburn is to not have the sun come up.
People overwhelmingly choose to use MS products for various reasons, and
these people are not necessarily losers because of it. Not everyone has the
capability or desire to be a Unix guru. And not every shop has to deal with
MS products, and I envy those. But ISPs and many other installations HAVE
to deal with them if you want to keep customers. Not a choice. Its a fact
of life, just like the sun coming up.
All this ranting aside, there is a serious problem with the way Outlook and
Outlook Express interface with qmail, but I don't think it is exclusive to
qmail. One of the reasons I migrated to qmail about 2 years ago was because
I was experiencing the same problems that you are seeing with a but the
product was called SLMail (for NT). Migrating to qmail did not solve the
problem, but it sure made it easier to go in and find the offending item and
delete it when using the maildir configuration. SLMail used a mailbox-type
config where mail items are combined in one big text file. Now when the
customer or client calls and says Outlook is hanging on item 4 or 10, I can
easily go into their maildir and delete the offending item instead of
searching through a big text file. In addition, I set up Sam's sqwebmail
web-based interface which allows customers to go to the server and delete
the offending item themselves. This works well for those having recurring
problems.
I have gathered a little bit of knowledge in dealing with this problem:
1. Sometimes the problem is just caused by a poor connection.
Disconnecting and reconnecting may allow you to retrieve it.
2. Sometimes there are control characters imbedded in email that makes
Outlook barf. If you identify this control char and delete it, Outlook will
retrieve the mail successfully. I think this causes most of the problems,
but it is not usually apparent where the control character. In some cases
the control character looks like an 'at' sign with an underscore below it.
3. It seems to hang more often on big items or items with attachments.
This may just be due to the fact that the connection is open longer and has
more work to do.
4. Deleting the offending items always cures the problem if it is a
corrupted file or one containing a 'bad' control character. The client can
retrieve the rest of the mail after the offending file is gone, without
re-dialing. If it is a connection problem, they may still not be able to
retrieve the rest of the mail after the offending item is gone. In that
case they should try to reconnect, and troubleshooting should focus on the
connection itself.
Sadly, that is the best I can do. If you really want a solution, maybe the
author of Outlook...or perhaps even Bill Gates would be willing help
(right).
Dennis Duval
