HELP/FAQ's

Mail FAQ's

Many of the problems you may have with your mail service can be easily remedied if you know a few little tips. The following are some of the most common questions we get regarding problems with your mail connection. We hope these questions and their answers will be helpful to you.

I can get online, but I can't get my mail.
Fixing the return address in Outlook Express
How can I retrieve my e-mail when I'm away from home?
How do I schedule a meeting in the Outlook calendar?
How much email space do I have?
I have a message to send to many people, but I don't want the "To": line to show everybody's email addresses, either for privacy or because of the space it takes.
My Messages stop downloading after the mailer begins receiving.
Strange ~ file in odd places
Suddenly I can't open attachments.
Too much spam!
Unable to switch Identities after installing WinXP Service Pack 1
What is MIME?
What is POP3?
What is SMTP?

I can get online, but I can't get my mail.

Check to make sure that you have the correct mail server address typed into your mail program,it should be: pop.memlane.com

Be sure you are typing your password correctly, and also ensure that you aren't typing commas in place of periods.

Fixing the return address in Outlook Express

When setting up the mail program "Outlook Express", it is necessary to insert a Reply To address, or delete the @memlane.com. If this is not done, the reply address is listed as @memlane.com, and will fail if someone tries to reply to your message. To change your Reply to address in Outlook Express do the following:

• Go to TOOLS
• Select ACCOUNTS
• Select the MAIL tab along the top of the window and click Properties
• Near the bottom of the window, click in the "Reply Address" box and enter your e-mail address (username@memlane.com)
• Select Apply and then OK

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How can I retrieve my e-mail when I'm away from home?

You can retrieve your e-mail by using web mail. Click here to login.

Click Calendar from within your Microsoft Outlook email.

• On the Actions menu, click Plan a Meeting.
• Click Invite Others.
• In the Type name or select from list box, enter the name of the person or resource you want at the meeting.
• For each name entered, click Required, Optional, or Resources. (The Required and Optional attendees appear in the To box on the Appointment tab, and Resources appear in the Location box.)
• Click OK, and then use the scroll bars to view the free/busy time for invitees. Free time will appear with no color.
• Click a time when all invitees are available. You can use AutoPick to find the next available free time for all invitees.
• Click Make Meeting.
• In the Subject box, type a description.
• If you did not schedule a room, enter the location in the Location box.
• Select other options you want.
• Click Send.

Note: These steps were taken directly from the Help menu in Microsoft Outlook. If you want to know how to use other Outlook or Calendar features, check it out.

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How much email space do I have?

You are allowed 10 MB's of space.

I have a message to send to many people, but I don't want the "To:" line to show everybody's email addresses, either for privacy or because of the space it takes.

In Outlook Express, click the "BCC" (blind carbon copy) button instead of the "To" button. This will ensure that your addresses are not visible to other e-mail recipients.

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My Messages stop downloading after the mailer begins receiving

When this happens, you will usually receive an error message. This can happen due to a number of reasons: a message may be too large or corrupt. If this happens please phone Don or Cam @ 526-2288 ext. 125.

Strange "~" file in strange places

After installing an Outlook Express update, you may discover a file named just "~" on your desktop or some other location on your hard drive. This is an automatic backup copy of the Windows Address Book (WAB) used by OE. The file has always been created automatically by OE and saved in the same folder as the *.wab file itself, with a name like <username>.wa~. A bug in an update causes the copy to be made in the wrong location and with a truncated name. You can simply rename it to *.wab and then double-click it to see that it is indeed a copy of your address book. The OE team at MS is aware of this bug and hope to include the fix in a future update.

Suddenly I can't open attachments.

Outlook Express 6 has a new security feature under Tools | Options | Security labeled "Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus. You can turn this off long enough to save an attachment, but it is recommend that you then turn it back on for normal use. Beginning with OE6 Service Pack 1, this feature is enabled by default. For a much more detailed explanation, see OLEXP: Using Virus Protection Features in Outlook Express 6 (Q291387) and Cannot Open E-Mail Attachments in Outlook Express After You Install SP1.

For a quick and easy workaround to open an attachment while leaving the block enabled, click Message | Forward (or press Ctrl-F). That will open a new FW: window in which you can access the attachment. When you are finished, close the FW: window and click "No" when prompted to save.

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Too much spam!

If you are getting too much spam, we suggest you purchase a good spam filter. We sell "Norton Anti-spam" here at the store. There are also free filters such as, "Spam Fighter" and SpamPal that you can download off the Internet.

The best way to avoid spam is not to use your mail e-mail address when filling in a web form, subscribing to a newsgroup, etc. If you wish to sign-up, purchase, subscribe etc., we suggest that you open a junk e-mail box with an organization such as yahoo or hotmail.

Most spam mail comes with an "unsubscribe" feature. DO NOT click to unsubscribe. All that will do is let the spammer know that yes, your e-mail address exists, thus inviting more spam.

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Unable to switch Identities after installing WinXP Service Pack 1

This bug appeared in Service Pack 1. There is now a patch that fixes it as well as some other bugs.

When you click File | Switch Identities, OE briefly closes but re-opens without switching to the other Identity. Microsoft is aware of the problem and is investigating. A quick workaround is to click File | Identities | Manage Identities, then remove the check mark for "Use this Identity when starting a program". Then instead of clicking File | Switch Identities, simply close and re-open OE. You will then see the Identity logon screen and can select the Identity you want. Microsoft has added a Knowledge Base article about the problem.

Note that the bug does not affect everyone. It might be related to using the "Main Identity" created the first time you run OE.

What is POP 3?

POP3 is an acronym for 'Post Office Protocol 3'. It is a protocol used for downloading email messages from an email server to your computer. With a POP3 email account, all of the email messages sent to your email address are stored on a POP3 mail server until you log on to the server and download the messages.

What is SMTP?

SMTP is an acronym for 'Simple Mail Transfer Protocol'. It is a protocol used for sending email messages across the Internet. It is used in conjunction with both POP3 and IMAP, protocols that enable you to download messages from a mail server to your computer. SMTP is used for outgoing mail while POP3 and IMAP are used for incoming mail.

If you want to use an email client such as Microsoft Outlook or Netscape Communicator to send email messages, you will need to configure the client so that it connects to the correct SMTP mail server each time you send mail. Instructions for set-up can be found by clicking here.

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What is MIME?

MIME is an acronym for 'Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions', an international standard designed for sending images, word processing documents, movies, etc. using Internet (SMTP) Mail.

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