252417 - SMTP error when sending mail

Status: RESOLVED INVALID

(MailNews Core :: Networking: SMTP, defect)

Description

[Uwe]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.7) Gecko/20040626 Firefox/0.8
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.7) Gecko/20040626 Firefox/0.8

I run Thunderbird 0.7.2 and am able to receive mails but can't send them.
Whenever I try to send I get an SMTP error (can't reach SMTP server, doesn't
respond. Please check pwd a.s.o.). In OE everything is fine. The password
manager shows a blank space where the SMTP user name should be.

Reproducible: Always
Steps to Reproduce:
1. Open new message
2. Send message
3. if new account, enter the SMTP password


Actual Results:  
4. Voilà: SMTP error.

Expected Results:  
Send the e-mail ;)

Comment 1

[Christian Eyrich]

> The password manager shows a blank space where the SMTP user name should be.

<>? That's normal since the username is encoded in the URL before the @.

> (can't reach SMTP server, doesn't respond. Please check pwd a.s.o.)

What error? Different ones?

Likely a server problem. Please attach a communications log (see
http://www.mozilla.org/quality/mailnews/mail-troubleshoot.html#smtp how to
create one) to this bug using above function.

Comment 2

[karebai]

(In reply to comment #0)
> User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.7)
Gecko/20040626 Firefox/0.8
> Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.7)
Gecko/20040626 Firefox/0.8
> 
> I run Thunderbird 0.7.2 and am able to receive mails but can't send them.
> Whenever I try to send I get an SMTP error (can't reach SMTP server, doesn't
> respond. Please check pwd a.s.o.). In OE everything is fine. The password
> manager shows a blank space where the SMTP user name should be.
> 
> Reproducible: Always
> Steps to Reproduce:
> 1. Open new message
> 2. Send message
> 3. if new account, enter the SMTP password
> 
> 
> Actual Results:  
> 4. Voilà: SMTP error.
> 
> Expected Results:  
> Send the e-mail ;)

Comment 3

[Haris Karahristianidis]

(In reply to comment #2)
> (In reply to comment #0)
> > User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.7)
> Gecko/20040626 Firefox/0.8
> > Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.7)
> Gecko/20040626 Firefox/0.8
> > 
> > I run Thunderbird 0.7.2 and am able to receive mails but can't send them.
> > Whenever I try to send I get an SMTP error (can't reach SMTP server, doesn't
> > respond. Please check pwd a.s.o.). In OE everything is fine. The password
> > manager shows a blank space where the SMTP user name should be.
> > 
> > Reproducible: Always
> > Steps to Reproduce:
> > 1. Open new message
> > 2. Send message
> > 3. if new account, enter the SMTP password
> > 
> > 
> > Actual Results:  
> > 4. Voilà: SMTP error.
> > 
> > Expected Results:  
> > Send the e-mail ;)
> 
> 

I can't send mail with Tb 1.0 20041216. I make clean installations of earlier
builds, but the problem still exists.. No problem till yesterday with Tb 1.0
20041206....

Comment 4

[cisburger]

The problem exists also in TB 1.0.
Many people aroud the world was signalling it.

I'm running WIN2000 SP4

Comment 5

[Christian Eyrich]

(In reply to comment #3)
> I can't send mail with Tb 1.0 20041216. I make clean installations of earlier
> builds, but the problem still exists.. No problem till yesterday with Tb 1.0
> 20041206....

What error, what server (address on the net)? And as I wrote, a log would be nice.

> No problem till yesterday with Tb 1.0 20041206....

And today with this build?

Comment 6

[Christian Eyrich]

(In reply to comment #4)
> The problem exists also in TB 1.0.
> Many people aroud the world was signalling it.

How do you know? Could you please give me a pointer?

Comment 7

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

Uwe(reporter), [e-mail], Haris Karahristianidis and [e-mail],
try next steps please, when SMTP connection related problem.
(Step-1) Read thru Thunderbird FAQ on SMTP server definition.
http://kb.mozillazine.org/index.phtml?title=Thunderbird_:_FAQs_:_Multiple_SMTP_Servers
(Step-2) Check your settings of all SMTP servers
         and check your SMTP choice of all accounts including multiple identities.
(Step-3) If problem still remains, get protocol log and attach log to bug.
         (do not paste long log data to bug)
         See comment #1 for protocol log. 

Comment 8

[Pete Deffendol]

Some of our TB 1.0 installs here are having the same problem, regardless of
which SMTP server is used (have tried at least two).  The same settings work on
other machines with TB 1.0.

Created a log file using:

set NSPR_LOG_MODULES=SMTP:5
set NSPR_LOG_FILE=c:\tbird.log

This is what I get with three successive send attempts:

0[284760]: SMTP Connecting to: mail.mdsc.com
0[284760]: SMTP Connecting to: mail.mdsc.com
0[284760]: SMTP Connecting to: mail.mdsc.com

Comment 9

[Christian Eyrich]

(In reply to comment #8)
> Some of our TB 1.0 installs here are having the same problem, regardless of
> which SMTP server is used (have tried at least two).  The same settings work
> on other machines with TB 1.0.
>
> 0[284760]: SMTP Connecting to: mail.mdsc.com

Is any AV software installed on the not working machines? Does a manual 
"telnet mail.mdsc.com 25" on the console on those machines show any server response?

Comment 10

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

(In reply to comment #8)
> Some of our TB 1.0 installs here are having the same problem, regardless of
> which SMTP server is used (have tried at least two).  The same settings work on
> other machines with TB 1.0.

> 0[284760]: SMTP Connecting to: mail.mdsc.com

Most frequent cases reported/found in many forums are ;
 (1) Firewal setting(Anti-virus software, personal firewal software, router etc.)
 (2) Proxy setting

Comment 11

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

Uwe <[e-mail]>(bug opener), Haris Karahristianidis, [e-mail],
does your problem still remain?

Comment 12

[Pete Deffendol]

(In reply to comment #10)
> Most frequent cases reported/found in many forums are ;
>  (1) Firewal setting(Anti-virus software, personal firewal software, router etc.)
>  (2) Proxy setting

We've found the source of the problem here, so I'll post it for those who may
have similar configurations. 

Our systems are running McAfee Viruscan 8.0 Enterprise, which stores a list of
programs allowed to connect to port 25 (this is an attempt to prevent
mail-mailing viruses from sending out mail.)  The exclude list includes
"thunderbird.exe" - however, when Thunderbird is running on our systems, it
reports itself as "THUNDE~1.EXE" so McAfee is blocking it.  Adding
"THUNDE~1.EXE" to the exclude list will fix the problem. 

Comment 13

[Adam Cromack]

(In reply to comment #12)
> (In reply to comment #10)
> > Most frequent cases reported/found in many forums are ;
> >  (1) Firewal setting(Anti-virus software, personal firewal software, router
etc.)
> >  (2) Proxy setting
> 
> We've found the source of the problem here, so I'll post it for those who may
> have similar configurations. 
> 
> Our systems are running McAfee Viruscan 8.0 Enterprise, which stores a list of
> programs allowed to connect to port 25 (this is an attempt to prevent
> mail-mailing viruses from sending out mail.)  The exclude list includes
> "thunderbird.exe" - however, when Thunderbird is running on our systems, it
> reports itself as "THUNDE~1.EXE" so McAfee is blocking it.  Adding
> "THUNDE~1.EXE" to the exclude list will fix the problem. 
> 
> 

This makes complete sense. Good thing it got noticed by someone. However, I have
done the above, restarted my computer, and still cannot send email. The only way
i can successfully send is if i actually turn off the monitoring on Port 25. I
probably shouldn't keep this disabled, so what can i do to get thunderbird
sending emails without McAfee VirusScan enterprise stopping it.

Comment 14

[alexa]

Same for SeaMonkey 1.0 Beta. 
But it worked with Alpha. How this?

Comment 15

[alexa]

(In reply to comment #13)

Article kb40733 at http://knowledgemap.nai.com/KanisaSupportSite/search.do gives the instructions. In short:
1. VirusScan Console
2. 'Access Protection', 'Properties'
3. 'Ports Blocking' tab
4. 'Prevent mass mailing worms from sending mail', 'EDIT'
5. 'Excluded Processes'
  
If VirusScan is centrally administrated, it restores the old exclude list automatically after a short time, so you have to contact your administrator to set this, even if you work locally on a notebook.


Some words of the error message from SeaMonkey (for better search results):
"Sending of message failed.(...) connecting to SMTP server (...) failed. (...)"

Comment 16

[alexa]

(In reply to comment #15)

...I forgot to say you have to add "seamonkey.exe" to the exclude list.

Comment 17

[Ian Coates]

Since recent updates Thunderbird will not send or receuve mail. Message reads smtp server not accessible.

Now asks for password on each attempt to fetch mail but will not recognise password.

Do not have same problem with Outlook

Comment 18

[suzabella]

TO WHOM IT CONCERNS.   IT HAS BEEN AT LEAST A WEEK AND WE CANNOT SEND EMAILS.  WE CAN RECEIVE THEM. IT STATES SMTP SERVER DOES NOT RESPOND.  OUR SERVER WAS CALLED 
AND HE WAS PUT OUT AND VERY RUDE.  HE DID NOT KNOW HOW TO HELP US.  SAID TO DOWNLOAD NEW VERSION. SO I DID.  NOTHING. REBOOTED STILL NOTHING.  YOUR HELP IS MUCH NEEDED.  I WILL KEEP IN CONTACT WITH YOU AND LET YOU KNOW IF WE CAN GET IT FIXED.  THANK YOU DONALD&SUE 

Comment 19

[Christian Eyrich]

(In reply to comment #18)
> IT HAS BEEN AT LEAST A WEEK AND WE CANNOT SEND EMAILS.

Firstly, please don't yell at us.
And then, please be more descriptive about your problem. What application in what version do you use? What error did you get, word for word?
And I guess it worked before with the same settings and the same server, yes? Nevertheless, what serveraddress is it (e.g. mail.gmx.net).

Comment 20

[Donald]

Once again this problem has reared it's ugly head.  I am running Thunderbird 1.5.0.10(20070221).  When I try to send email the following sequence occurs.  

The system asks for a password (sometimes once, sometimes more than once)
Eventually it accepts(?) the pass word 
Then is gives me the following error message - 
"Sending of Message Failed.
The message could not be sent because connecting to SMTP server MAIL.BOLDFILMS.COM failed.  The server may be unavailable or is refusing SMTP connections.  Please verify your SMTP server setting is correct and try again or else contact your network administrator." 

I have spoke with both the administrator for our in house network as well as the administrator for our email service to no avail. 

PLEEASE lead me out of this darkness!

Donald (not to be confused with the above Donald&Sue) 

Comment 21

[5highpockets]

I get the same type of errors trying to connect to hotmail.com.  However, even though I have gotten the settings for my ISP, it is confusing as to how I will connect to the outgoing SMTP server since it is a different domain than my email address.  I don't have these issues with Outlook or Outlook Express.

Comment 22

[Jenn B]

"Sending of Message Failed.
The message could not be sent because connecting to SMTP server
smtphm.sympatico.ca failed.  The server may be unavailable or is refusing SMTP
connections.  Please verify your SMTP server setting is correct and try again
or else contact your network administrator." 

this is the error i get, you helped me set up thunderbird, which i do thank you for but not i still cant send anything...,, :-( the version I am using is the latest version. So far anything i need to send has to be through the sympatico website. and its quite irratating! lol 

Comment 23

[agrillo]

I am using Thunderbird 2.0.0.17. I can send mail, but I can't send mail with attachments. When I try to send an attachment I get; "An error occurred while sending mail. The mail server responded: .Please check the message and try again." 
I checked my antivirus firewall but it's fine. I'm wondering if it's a deeper Mozilla problem as I've tried Simple Mail for Firefox and get the same response. Also if I try to use Yahoo I get a dialog box asking what to do with "application/octet-stream. This does not happen on IE.

Comment 24

[Deanna]

I am using Thunder bird version 2.0.0.22 (20090605). Every time I try to send a message to a craig's list recipient I receive the following message "SMTP error from remote mail server after RCPT...Client host rejected: rDNS/DNS_validation_failed._Please_setup_matching_DNS_and_rDNS_records". This did not happen when I used another email program. Please advise on how to correct this or I will be forced to use another program. Thank you. Deanna Ramage [e-mail]

Comment 25

[Christian Eyrich]

I've tried to read on this and found http://www.craigslist.org/about/help/rdns_failure. It reads like you might try to deliver your mail directly to the craigs list SMTP server. Is that true?
In any case, you're using the same SMTP server with the other program?

Comment 26

[Deanna]

Thanks for the response. I am copy/pasting the craigs list proprietorial email address to my email as if I were writing any other email.

Comment 27

[Christian Eyrich]

That wasn't what I need to know. My question is about the server which is configured in your mail client(s) to be used to transport the mail. In Thunderbird it's behind "Outgoing Server (SMTP)" on the main pane of your account in the Account Settings.
You mentioned the problem doesn't occur when using another program. I'd like to know that programm and Thunderbird use the same SMTP server.

Also it just came to my mind that the message you cited might not be from a dialogue but a mail you get in response to sending to a craigs list recipient. Is this the case? If so, could you please paste in the whole message you got (except any citation of your original mail which might be included)?

Comment 28

[Deanna]

"Also it just came to my mind that the message you cited might not be from a
dialogue but a mail you get in response to sending to a craigs list recipient.
Is this the case? If so, could you please paste in the whole message you got
(except any citation of your original mail which might be included)?" yes, this is in response to an email I sent to a Craig's list post. 
Entire message is below.


This message was created automatically by mail delivery software.

A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its
recipients. This is a permanent error. The following address(es) failed:

  [e-mail]
    SMTP error from remote mail server after RCPT TO:<[e-mail]>:
    host mxi3p.craigslist.org [208.82.236.163]: 554 5.7.1 <unknown[205.234.97.183]>:
    Client host rejected: rDNS/DNS_validation_failed._Please_setup_matching_DNS_and_rDNS_records:_http://www.craigslist.org/about/help/rdns_failure xabd-4

------ This is a copy of the message, including all the headers. ------

Return-path: <[e-mail]>
Received: from webmail.elitehosts.com ([209.67.29.110] helo=ezri.elitehosts.com)
	by offsite.elitehosts.com with esmtp (Exim 4.69)
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	for [e-mail]; Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:28:41 -0400
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Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:28:50 -0700
From: Deanna <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
User-Agent: Thunderbird 2.0.0.22 (Windows/20090605)
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Wedding Musicians Needed (View Point Inn)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-MAILIN-01-MailScanner-Information: Please contact the ISP for more information
X-MAILIN-01-MailScanner-ID: 1MQVsv-0002zg-B1
X-MAILIN-01-MailScanner: Found to be clean
X-MAILIN-01-MailScanner-SpamCheck: not spam, SpamAssassin (not cached,
	score=1.546, required 8, AWL 2.40, BAYES_00 -2.60,
	FH_SALES_REPLY 1.10, RATWR10_MESSID 0.65)
X-Spam-Level: *
X-MailScanner-From: [e-mail]
X-Spam-Status: No

Good afternoon...


Wedding Musicians Needed (View Point Inn)
Reply to: [e-mail]
Date: 2009-07-13, 1:28PM PDT


Acoustic Musicians Needed for Outdoor Wedding Ceremony on 9/5/09 in 
Corbett, OR

Interested in either Classical Guitar, Slide Guitar, Violin, Bass, etc...

Please reply via email and let us know prices and how to hear samples.

    * Location: View Point Inn
    * it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other 
commercial interests
    * Compensation: no pay

    
    
PostingID: 1268130293

Comment 29

[Christian Eyrich]

Thank you for the entire message. From this it's clear that the problem is unrelated to the mail user agent, i.e. Thunderbird.

Your hoster has several mail servers in service. Some of them have correct DNS/rDNS entries, some not. As noted in the http://www.craigslist.org/about/help/rdns_failure, craigs list's server need to be able to lookup the server name from the ip address and then lookup the ip address from the server name. The test succeeds when both ip are the same.

It's pure luck which server will be used for finally sending your mail to craigs list. So next time you might try to send a mail to craigs list with Thunderbird it might succeed and fail with your other mail client.

You should contact either your technical admin inhouse or your hoster (elitehosts) directly and ask them to correct the DNS entry for their mail servers.