MEMPHIS ANNUAL CONFERENCE
THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Email Errors & Troubleshooting

Please report any problems you encounter regarding our email system so we can post solutions here for others.  Please send email to WebServant@Memphis-UMC.org or call 270-251-2891  for any tech support issues that may arise, so we can develop our own customized support structures.   Thanks!

 

Error: No user name provided, cannot proceed

Invalid User Name

Unable to Send Mail - Sender's Mail is Being Refused - Email Link Errors

 

 

 

Invalid Server or Server not Found

 

Problem:  You receive an error from your email program saying that your server  is invalid or can't be found
Cause:   Possibly the server is down, but probably the name needs more info 

Solution:  Normally the server name can just be the same as the part of your email address after the @.  If that doesn't work, then try adding mail. or pop. to the front, ie   mail.memphis-umc.org  or pop.memphis-umc.org


 

 

Invalid User Name

 

Problem:  You receive an error from your email program saying that your username is invalid
Cause:   (Besides the username being invalid :)... Many servers now require the use of the whole email address as the username 

Solution:  Enter your whole email address as username
 

 

Invalid Password

 

Problem:  You receive an error from your email program saying that your password is invalid
Cause:   (Besides the password being invalid :)... Most passwords are case sensitive 

 

 

 

Error:  No user name provided, can not proceed
even though you have correctly entered your username & password		 Problem:  Your browser is blocking the WebMail program from reading its cookies. 
Cause:  In IE 6, the default setting for cookies blocks reading by third party (nonMicrosoft) websites.
Solution:   Change IE 6 settings to allow cookies from Memphis-UMC.org to be read 
  1. In IE 6, select Tools > Internet Options > Privacy 
  2. If you want to enable all websites to read cookies, under settings drag the slide bar all the way down (it probably says "Medium;"  change it to "Low."  OR
  3. If you want to just enable the cookies for selected websites, for higher privacy, then leave the slide bar where it is and instead under Websites click Edit.  Then enter memphis-umc.org in the website box, and click Allow. 

    4. Log back in to the webmail program, and everything should work fine.  If it still gives this error, please send a note to WebServant@Memphis-UMC.org

 



Unable to Send Mail Using the Memphis-UMC.org Address

Problem:  You receive an error from your email program saying that you can't send mail.
Cause:   Possible problems include connection, ISP, login, addressing, SMTP server.  Technically, something could be wrong with your email program application, but usually it  will be a less dramatic problem.
Solution:  Find out what's blocking your outgoing email and clear the obstacle or work around it.
Steps:

  1. Check that you're online... duh.
  2. See if your error message looks something like this:

    3. The message could not be sent because one of the recipients was rejected by the server. The rejected e-mail address was 'user@Memphis-UMC.org'. Subject 'Re: test', Account: 'WebServant@Memphis-UMC.org', Server: 'mail.lig.bellsouth.net', Protocol: SMTP, Server Response: '550 .net 022: Your current IP address is not allowed to relay to Memphis-UMC.org Solution: Connect using BellSouth Internet Service.', Port: 25, Secure(SSL): No, Server Error: 550, Error Number: 0x800CCC79
    1. If it does, then the SMTP server you have listed for your outgoing mail has blocked the ISP you are currently connected to.  You'll need to either re-connect online with and unblocked ISP, or change the SMTP outgoing server you are using.
    2. Note that in this example, I was logged on to AOL and trying to send mail using BellSouth.  BellSouth won't relay mail sent by users who are connected via AOL (and possibly other ISPs), so the solution is either to reconnect straight thru BellSouth, or use another server that doesn't block AOL.  I resent the message using my LivingWeb smtp server and it worked fine.  That's what all that jibberish in the error message is about.
  3. Check your smtp server and make sure you have entered the security login info correctly
  4. Make sure the address you are sending to is a valid format for email, and not a website address.
  5. If that doesn't fix the problem, please send email to WebServant@Memphis-UMC.org and we'll try something else!


Sender's Mail is Being Refused

Problem:  When someone sends you email, it is being returned with an error something like "Refused by Server"
Cause:   There are several possibilities, normally on the sender's end, but possibly on our end as well.  Most common causes include error in the username your sender is using, timeout problems on the server, blocked IP address.
Solution:
Steps:

  1. Have the sender send a copy of the returned email to you at a different address.
  2. Double check the username to make sure it is correct... no extra spaces, dots, apostrophes, or hard to detect extra characters like "l" etc. (usually the bounce message will say "invalid recipient" or "no such user" etc., but not always).
  3. Check to make sure the IP address is not on the SpamCop blacklist (a blacklist used by many ISPs to block mail):
    1. Open the SpamCop page at http://spamcop.net/bl.shtml#listed
    2. View the header info (in Outlook Express, right-click the user's address > Properties > Details
    3. Copy the first IP address from the header (eg., 216.25.6.228) and type or paste in into the Lookup Box on the SpamCop page and click Lookup.
    4. The results page of this inquiry will yield the domain name of the sender if available, and any recent blocking information, whether the address is blocked, if so why and for how long, etc.
    5. If there are other IP addresses in the header info, you can try them also.  Mail is often relayed via additional computers, and another address on the path may be blocked.
    6. If the senders IP is blocked, they will need to use a different smtp server (outgoing mail server).   The use of the SpamCop blacklist is a VCI policy.
  4. If that doesn't fix the problem, please send email to WebServant@Memphis-UMC.org and we'll try something else!

 


Email Link Errors

Problem:  When you click on an email link in your web browser, it doesn't open your email composer to send a pre-addresed email.
Cause:  Your browser's email application has not been set.
Solution:   Change IE 6 settings to enable your email application.
Steps:  In  IE 6, select Tools > Internet Options and click on the Programs tab.  The select your email program from the drop down list.  If that doesn't fix the problem, please send email to WebServant@Memphis-UMC.org and we'll try something else!