Experiencing server "time-outs" while sending and receiving email

If your connection to the Internet is OK, and you can surf the web as normal, you should firstcheck that the problem is not a temporary network fault.

If your server times out while you are sending and receiving mail, it could be because of the timeout period.

PC users using Outlook Express can set the server timeout period - please ensure that this is set tofour minutes and 30 seconds.

Mac users with Outlook Express cannot change the server timeout settings.

Time-outs could also occur for one of two reasons:

Option 1 - You could have a corruption of the pop3uidl file.

You should disconnect from the Internet and close all programs.

The tick box Leave a copy of messages on server may have been activated.

If you disable the Leave a copy of messages on server option, two things happen the next time you connect to your POP3 server:

• Mail that has been stored is deleted.
• The information in the Pop3uidl.dat/.dbx file is cleared, and the file is reset to its default size of 312 bytes.

1. Open Outlook Express
2. Click Tools
3. Select Accounts
4. Select Mail tab
5. Highlight the relevant account and click Properties
6. Select Advanced tab
7. Within the section Delivery, remove the tick from the box labelled Leave a copy of messages on server
8. Click Apply
9. Click OK (You can repeat this process for any other accounts showing within the Mail tab, once this has been completed.)
10. Click Close

Please note: 
You must exit Outlook Express and then restart for the changes to take effect.

Option 2 - You may also have a corrupt or a very large file attachment on the mail server.

There could be mail queued on the server and you have to remove the mail that is causing a problem.

You may need to contact us about this. If you do need to contact us please tell us the time when you last tried to download or delete email. You must wait for at least 20 minutes from the last attempt for the mailbox to reset itself.

Make sure that you have closed any application attempting to access your email (Outlook Express) before continuing.