Solved E-mails can be sent, but not received

cytherian

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Location
Hoboken, NJ
This is very perplexing and frustrating and I searched around for info on this but could not find a match, hence my posting about it here.

I'm configuring a new Windows 8 laptop for a relative. Unfortunately they like IncrediMail (which I hate), but I set it up with their Optimum Online (optonline) account for them anyway. Making a backup was a real PITA. Anyway, I did it and got the data over. Sending a test e-mail worked, but attempting to get e-mail resulted in "Operation Incomplete". I checked and double checked the entry. The password was fine because sending works. But not receiving.

The old XP computer still handles e-mail fine. I double checked the settings there, showing incoming IMAP/POP3 port 110 and SMTP port 25 outgoing, both using mail.optonline.net servers. I made sure both of those settings match on the Windows 8 computer. I verified the incoming settings with what is listed on the Optimum Online website and that matches. Still, no joy.

OK, so I figured why not set up Mozilla Thunderbird and see if the same thing happens? I sent a test message to my account and I received it. However, when I replied to the e-mail it was not received. Thunderbird shows "Downloading message 1 of 2 to <account name>"... and nothing happens. Again, I double checked the settings and don't see anything wrong.

The laptop came with a 6 month subscription to Norton Internet Security. I figured OK, maybe Norton is causing problems. I disabled the firewall and anti-virus. NO DIFFERENCE.

So I'm stumped. Anybody know what the culprit might be?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    AMD
    Motherboard
    AMD
    Memory
    8Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    RADEON
Well...

At least for Thunderbird, the issue turned out to be a stubborn process that was stuck. I noticed there were two processes left over after having closed Thunderbird, so I tried killing them. They would NOT close. So I rebooted. After that I went through the interface again and was able to receive an incoming e-mail. So apparently these processes were somehow preventing the e-mail server changes from propagating to the interface.

Funny thing about W8... I find that killing processes is not as powerful as in Vista. In Vista I can kill pretty much any non-core process. W8 seems a bit tenuous in this regard.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    AMD
    Motherboard
    AMD
    Memory
    8Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    RADEON
OK... Chaos has found a way to trip things up again.


She's using her computer, everything is fine... then a couple of days ago, she stops getting new email. Her client is Thunderbird, as I mentioned above after going through the Incredimail fiasco. She can send, but receiving shows "downloading 1 of 24"... and the progress bar keeps scrolling, with no new emails appearing. She has rebooted, restarted, etc... same thing.

So, I ended up installing Thunderbird on my computer, set up her email account, and all of the pending mail downloaded (I did have "leave on server" checked so she'll still be able to get them). I then (over the phone) walked with her through the settings to be sure that they are the same as on mine. THEY ARE THE SAME: mail.optonline.net, port 110, connection security - none, password un-encrypted.

Again... everything was fine, she was getting e-mail up until the 26th, then it stopped. She has Norton Internet Security installed. I had her disable the firewall, thinking that maybe the "smart" functionality suddenly decided to block the port since it's not secure. But that didn't change anything.

I'm stumped, and I don't know where to turn, because I see the correct settings working on my computer. Hers is Windows 8, but if it worked before it should still be working. And I'm just not in a situation right now where I can go back to her house to see what's going on first-hand.

Any ideas about what could have mysteriously changed that is now preventing the Thunderbird client from downloading email?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    AMD
    Motherboard
    AMD
    Memory
    8Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    RADEON
Check whether the antivirus scans incoming mail. Could be hanging at that point.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    AMD X4 9850
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4A785 M
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI HD 4200
I had her disable both anti-virus and firewall... but no change. Mind you, with Norton Internet Security active, the setup was working fine.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    AMD
    Motherboard
    AMD
    Memory
    8Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    RADEON
Well, somehow she started getting e-mail again. She said she didn't do anything to the computer.

Anyway, she was really missing Incredimail, so she contacted their technical support and ended up paying them $70 for a session. They had her do something that got it to work on W8 and now she's happy. She can't tell me what they had her do... which is a bummer. I really want to know what finagling they had her follow. I'll have to check all of the settings next time I visit and make note of them... but it still bugs me to no end that this shouldn't have required a paid tech support session to get it working.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    AMD
    Motherboard
    AMD
    Memory
    8Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    RADEON
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