449609 - Inability to send email with large attachments (caused by SpySweeper) - "message could not be sent because connecting to SMTP Server xxxx failed. The server may be unavailable or is refusing SMTP connection"

Status: RESOLVED INVALID

(Thunderbird :: Message Compose Window, defect)

Description

[John Ingwersen]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.0; en-US; rv:1.8.1.16) Gecko/20080702 Firefox/2.0.0.16
Build Identifier: Thunderbird version 2.0.0.16 (20080708)

When attempting to send an email with large attachments (a couple of scanned pages - one will go OK)I get a message that "connecting to SMTP server smtp.hughes.net failed" I can send the same message and attachments using Hughesnet webmail without problem. I have found that sometimes I get this message and the person to whom I sent it actually received it.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Create email with three or four attachments (one scanned page in jpeg each)
2. Attempt to send it
3.
Actual Results:  
Message is returned that "The message could not be sent because connecting to SMTP Server smtp.hughes.net failed. The server may be unavailable or is refusing SMTP connection. Please verify that your SMTP server setting is correct and try again, or else contact your network administrator."

Expected Results:  
I have found that at times the message (with attachments) has actually gone out, sometimes it has not. I had no problem when I used Hughesnet Webmail sending the same message and attachments.

Comment 1

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

(In reply to comment #0)
> When attempting to send an email with large attachments (a couple of scanned
> pages - one will go OK)I get a message that "connecting to SMTP server
> smtp.hughes.net failed"
> I have found that sometimes I get this message and the person to whom I sent it actually received it.

Two case is possible.
(A) Tb sens all data includong ".[CR][LF]" as end of mail data indicator.
    But server doesn't return OK within reasonable time.
    Then Tb detects timeout.
    In this case, mail is sent to recipient, because SMTP server received
    whole mail data with no error.
(B) Tb sends all data, but fails to send all of "end of mail data indicator" of
    ".[CR][LF]"(sends partially). Bug 437494 looks to be this case.
    Tb won't send required part of ".[CR][LF]", then server waits for
    all of the last ".[CR][LF]" sequence forever.
    Because both server & Tb waits forever, timeout occurs sooner or later.
    In this case, server's action seems to depend on server.
    When ".[CR]" arrived but last [LF] is not arrived yet and timeout,
    (B-1) ignores the mail, because protocol violation(lack of [LF]).
    (B-2) accepts mail, although protocol violation(lack of [LF]).
          (stand alone [CR] is also a line break character)

If (2), altering of mail data length can be a workaround.
(1) Compose a mail with large attachment to your self
(2) "Send Later"
(3) At "Unsent Messages" of "Local Folders", copy the mail to a mail folder.
    "Send Unsent Messages" via context menu of the mail
    Problem occurs? Mail is sent to you?
(4) If problem occurs, "Edit As New" of back up mail in a mail folder,
    alter message data length, and "Send Later"
    - Make subject shorter or longer, make body text shorter or longer.
(5) "Send Unsent Messages"
    Problem occurs again?  Mail is sent to you?

If problem can be re-created, get SMTP protocol log. See Bug 402793 Comment #1 for getting log. Following parameter is for SMTP log.
> SET NSPR_LOG_MODULES=imap:5

Comment 2

[Charles Stanton]

I have exactly the same problem.  I am running XP instead of Vista but I get the same message.  This problem developed after a recent upgrade of Tb and was never an issue prior to that time.  Unfortunately I do not know which upgrade initiated the problem.

Comment 3

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin]]

Charles: check your firewall/antivirus. That's the problem in most cases...

If not, please get an smtp log to see what's happening - http://wiki.mozilla.org/MailNews:Logging

Comment 4

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

sent logging .bat file to John

Comment 5

[Charles Stanton]

Problem found and resolved:  It was not my regular antivirus (AVG) but SpySweeper that was causing the problem.  Now I temporarily deactivate SpySweeper to send large attachments and it works without a hitch.  It took a while to find this because I did not realize that SpySweeper monitored my outgoing mail.

Comment 6

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin]]

->INVALID then. Thx for checking.

Comment 7

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

(In reply to comment #6)

Charles Stanton's case(comment #2 & comment #5) added to this bug is apparently INVALID, but original issue of this bug(comment #0 by John Ingwersen, bug opener) is still unclear.
Magnus Melin, what is you base that original issue of this bug is completely same as Charles Stanton's case?

Comment 8

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

I was thinking same thing as wada, but John has told me earlier he doesn't know when he'll get additional info we need. So we might just leave this closed, and John can reopen the bug if he finds the current diagnosis to be incorrect.