Troubleshooting Microsoft Outlook 2002 by Don Gilbert, Julia Kelly, Julia Kelly

From the Publisher

Troubleshooting Microsoft Outlook Version 2002 provides fast answers to problems that can arise when using the latest version of Outlook. Vivid, easy-to-follow diagnostic charts enable users to identify the problem-and the solution to it-quickly and easily. Each chapter begins with a flowchart to aid the user in pinpointing a solution to the problem. Each flowchart contains quick fixes for simple problems. Solution pages give step-by-step procedures with screen images that illustrate what users see on their computer screens.

Product Details

• Table of Contents
• Read a Sample Chapter

Table of Contents

Read a Sample Chapter

• My e-mail account doesn't work
• Source of the problem
• How to fix it
• Getting connected takes a long time
• Source of the problem
• How to fix it
• I can't set up my Web-based e-mail account
• Source of the problem
• How to fix it
• The Find tool doesn't find messages in my Hotmail account
• Source of the problem
• How to fix it
• I can't set up my MSN, AOL, or CompuServe e-mail account
• Source of the problem
• How to fix it

E-mail, accounts

My e-mail account doesn't work

Source of the problem

You've set up an Internet e-mail account with a local Internet service provider (ISP), and you have all the account information that you need to create the account in Microsoft Outlook. But for some reason, your new e-mail account isn't working.

Or perhaps your ISP changed some of the information for your account, such as the name of the incoming mail server or outgoing mail server, and you don't know where to make those changes.

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TIP:
Record all the account information your ISP gives you in an Outlook note so that you can find it easily when you need it.

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TIP:
This procedure assumes that you are using an Internet e-mail account. If you have a non-POP3 account, the wizard will look different than described in these steps. If you are connected to a Microsoft Exchange server, contact your administrator before troubleshooting your e-mail account.

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How to fix it

The E-mail Accounts Wizard stores all your ISP account information, and you can check it and change it if you need to.

1. On the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts.
2. On the E-mail Accounts Wizard's first page, select the View Or Change Existing E-mail Accounts option, and click Next.
3. In the Outlook Processes E-mail For These Accounts In The Following Order list, click your account name, and then click the Change button.
4. On the Internet E-mail Settings (POP3) page of the E-mail Accounts Wizard, in the User Information area, make sure you have a name and the correct e-mail address entered.
5. In the Server Information area, make sure the addresses in the Incoming Mail Server (POP3) and Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) boxes are correct, with no typing errors. (There are never any spaces in server names.)
6. In the Logon Information area, delete and retype your user name and password. (Some accounts have case-sensitive account names and passwords—if yours does, be sure you type the correct uppercase and lowercase letters.)

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7. If your e-mail account requires that you log on using secure password authentication, be sure to select the Log On Using Secure Password Authentication (SPA) check box.
8. Click More Settings. If your ISP told you that you need to log on to your outgoing mail server, in the Internet E-mail Settings dialog box, click the Outgoing Server tab, select the My Outgoing Server (SMTP) Requires Authentication check box, and then check that your outgoing mail server settings are correct.
9. Click the Connection tab, and make sure you have the correct connection option selected. If you connect through your computer's modem, select the Connect Using My Phone Line option. If you use a cable or DSL modem or are connected through your office network, select the Connect Using My Local Area Network (LAN) option.

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10. If you connect using a phone line, in the Modem area, click Properties. In the dialog box named for your dial-up connection, click the General tab, and check the phone number. If it's correct, click Cancel; if it's wrong, type the correct phone number, and click OK.

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11. In the Internet E-mail Settings dialog box, click the Advanced tab, but make changes only if your ISP or network administrator has specifically directed you to do so. (The default settings are fine in most cases.)
12. Click OK to close the Internet E-mail Settings dialog box.
13. On the Internet E-mail Settings page of the E-mail Accounts Wizard, click Test Account Settings. If there are no errors, you've fixed your problem. Click Close, click Next, and then on the final page of the E-mail Accounts Wizard, click Finish to exit the wizard.

If your account still doesn't work after you've checked and corrected the account information as described here, call your ISP, and ask someone to walk you through the Outlook setup, step by step.

Getting connected takes a long time

Source of the problem

Outlook dials in to your ISP, but it seems to take a long time to get connected. There are a few settings that might be slowing down your connection time. You can check (and change, if you need to) these connection settings.

How to fix it

1. On the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts.
2. On the first page of the E-mail Accounts Wizard, select the View Or Change Existing E-mail Accounts option, and click Next.
3. On the wizard's second page, in the Outlook Processes E-mail For These Accounts In The Following Order list, click your account name, and then click the Change button.
4. Click More Settings.
5. In the Internet E-mail Settings dialog box, click the Connection tab.
6. In the Modem area, click the down arrow next to the Use The Following Dial-Up Connection box, click your account name in the drop-down list, and then click the Properties button.

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7. In the dialog box for your account, on the Networking tab, clear the NetBEUI check box, as well as any other protocols except Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).

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8. Click OK twice to close all the dialog boxes.
9. Click Next, and then click Finish to close the E-mail Accounts Wizard.

I can't set up my Web-based e-mail account

Source of the problem

You want to set up a Hotmail, Yahoo!, or other Web-based e-mail account (because it's free—what a deal!) or you already have a Web-based e-mail account, and you want to use it with Outlook. But you don't know how to set it up, or you tried to set it up but it didn't work.

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BEFORE YOU START:
The way you access a Web-based e-mail account in Outlook depends on the Web-based e-mail service provider you use. Hotmail and MSN support Outlook's ability to host your Web-based e-mail as a fully integrated part of Outlook. Other Web-based e-mail service providers can also integrate with Outlook 2002 if they provide an appropriate server URL. Even if your Web-based e-mail service provider doesn't support integration with Outlook, you can still access it from Outlook in the same way that you can open a Web page in Outlook. If you're unsure whether a service provider supports Outlook 2002 integration, contact the service. In either case, the Web-based e-mail account must be established before you can set it up in Outlook. You typically set this up through the service provider's Web page. For example, to set up a Hot-mail account, visit www.msn.com, click Hotmail, and then click Sign Up.

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TIP:
Although Web-based e-mail accounts are free, you must still have a dial-up, cable, or DSL connection to access a Web-based e-mail program.

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How to fix it

Set up an integrated Web-based account

1. On the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts.
2. On the first page of the E-mail Accounts Wizard, select the Add A New E-mail Account option, and click Next.
3. On the wizard's second page, select the HTTP option, and click Next.

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4. On the wizard's third page, in the Server Information area, click the down arrow next to the HTTP Mail Service Provider box, and click your Web server in the drop-down list. If it's not Hotmail or MSN, select Other, and type the URL address of the server. (This is not the same URL you use to access your Web-based e-mail using a browser.)
5. In the User Information area of the wizard's third page, type your name and e-mail address. In the Logon Information area, type your user name and password.

The name you type in the Your Name box should be the name that is displayed outside the parentheses in the From box of an e-mail message when recipients see your e-mail. (For example, if your e-mail messages show From: John Tippett (jp_tippett@hotmail.com), type John Tippett.) The name you type in the User Name box should be the part of your e-mail address that appears before the @ symbol (jp_tippett in this example).

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6. When you are finished, click More Settings.
7. In the Internet E-mail Settings dialog box, click the Connection tab. Select the Connect Using My Phone Line option if you are using a dial-up connection, or the Connect Using My Local Area Network (LAN) option if you're using a cable or DSL modem.
8. Click OK to close the Internet E-mail Settings dialog box, click Next in the E-mail Accounts Wizard, and click Finish to complete the wizard.

You should now see a new folder in the Folder List, named for your e-mail service (for example, Hotmail, if you chose that service) and containing an Inbox folder with your Web-based e-mail.

Set up a stand-alone Web-based account

Because you can set any folder's home page in Outlook to display a Web address, if your Web-based e-mail account doesn't support integration with Outlook, you can create a new folder and associate it with your Web-based e-mail address.

1. If the Folder List is not already displayed, on the View menu, click Folder List.
2. In the Folder List, right-click Outlook Today, and then click New Folder on the shortcut menu.
3. In the Create New Folder dialog box, type a name for the folder in the Name box, and click OK.

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4. If you are prompted to add a shortcut to this folder to your Outlook Bar, click either Yes or No.
5. Right-click the new folder in the Folder List, and click Properties on the shortcut menu to display the Properties dialog box.
6. Click the Home Page tab, and in the Address box, type the URL for the account's Web page.
7. Select the Show Home Page By Default For This Folder check box, and click OK.

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TIP:
If there's an option for automatically logging you in on this computer, select it before signing in the first time and you'll always go directly to your e-mail when you open this folder in Outlook.

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The Find tool doesn't find messages in my Hotmail account

Source of the problem

You've added Hotmail, Microsoft Network (MSN), or another Web-based e-mail account to Outlook, and your Web account folders appear in the Folder List with those of other e-mail accounts. But when you click Find on the Tools menu and search all folders for messages containing specific words, Outlook doesn't find the ones in your Web-based folders. You know they're there—you can see them!

The problem is that unlike your other accounts, which deliver messages to the Inbox folder and store sent messages in the Send Items folder, Hotmail has its own Inbox and Sent Items folders. (This is true for any Web-based account that integrates into Outlook.) The Find feature can search one set of folders or the other, but not both at the same time. You need to tell Find to specifically search the folders in your Web-based e-mail account.

How to fix it

1. If the Search Bar isn't currently displayed, on the Tools menu, click Find.
2. In the Search Bar, type the word or words you want to search for in the Look For box.
3. Click Search In, and click Choose Folders in the drop-down list.
4. In the Select Folder(s) dialog box, clear the Inbox check box, and then click Hotmail.
5. At the bottom of the dialog box, select the Search Subfolders check box.

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6. Click OK.
7. In the Search Bar, click Find Now.

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I can't set up my MSN, AOL, or CompuServe e-mail account

Source of the problem

You've got a Microsoft Network (MSN), America Online (AOL), or CompuServe account, and you're having difficulty getting Outlook to send and receive e-mail through that account. The following solution might fix the problem, depending on which of these programs you're trying to use.

How to fix it

MSN

To use Outlook with MSN, you must be using Microsoft Network 2.5 or later. To set up your Microsoft Network 2.5 account in Outlook, you follow normal account setup procedures, but you must be sure to set a few specific settings.

1. On the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts.
2. In the E-mail Accounts Wizard, click the Add A New E-mail Account option, and then click Next.
3. On the wizard's second page, select the POP3 option, and click Next.

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4. On the wizard's third page, complete the boxes in the User Information and Logon Information areas. In the Server Information area, type pop3.email.msn.com in the Incoming Mail Server (IMAP) box, type secure.smtp.email.msn.com in the Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) box, and then select the Log On Using Secure Password Authorization (SPA) check box.

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5. Click More Settings, and in the Internet E-mail Settings dialog box, click the Connection tab.
6. Select the Connect Using My Phone Line option if you are using a dial-up connection, or the Connect Using My Local Area Network (LAN) option if you're using a cable or DSL modem.
7. Click OK to close the Internet E-mail Settings dialog box.
8. Click Next, and then click Finish to complete the E-mail Accounts Wizard.

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TIP:
For more information about your MSN e-mail account, contact Microsoft Network technical support.

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AOL

If your e-mail account is with AOL, there's no way to fix it. As of the writing of this book, AOL uses its own e-mail system, which isn't compatible with the Internet standards supported by independent e-mail programs, such as Outlook and Microsoft Outlook Express. In other words, you can get your AOL e-mail only through the AOL software.

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TIP:
If you have an earlier version of CompuServe, you can still use Outlook to send and receive e-mail on your account. The Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q299325 describes how to do this.

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CompuServe

To set up your CompuServe 2000 account in Outlook, you follow normal account setup procedures, but you must be sure to set a few specific settings. This procedure describes how to set up CompuServe 2000 5.0 (or later) with Outlook and assumes the last part of your e-mail address is @cs.com.

1. On the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts.
2. In the E-mail Accounts Wizard, select the Add A New E-mail Account option, and then click Next.
3. On the wizard's second page, select the IMAP option, and click Next.

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4. On the wizard's third page, in the Server Information area, type imap.cs.com in the Incoming Mail Server (IMAP) box, and smtp.cs.com in the Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) box (unless CompuServe tells you otherwise).
5. Click More Settings, and in the Internet E-mail Settings dialog box, click the Outgoing Server tab.
6. Select the My Outgoing Server (SMTP) Requires Authentication check box.
7. Select the Use Same Settings As My Incoming Mail Server option.

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8. Click the Connection tab, and in the Connection area, select the Connect Using My Phone Line option if you are using a dial-up connection, or the Connect Using My Local Area Network (LAN) option if you're using a cable or DSL modem.
9. Click OK to close the Internet E-mail Settings dialog box.
10. Click Next, and then click Finish to complete the E-mail Accounts Wizard.

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TIP:
For more information about your CompuServe 2000 e-mail account, contact CompuServe technical support.

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