Cannot verify email

[GG]

I'm trying to retrieve a "reset password" link for another forum. However,
the address the reset link was sent to is for some reason demanding I verify
my username and password, which means that until I do I cannot recieve the
reset link. However I do not know the username or password, and all my
guesses were rejected. To test I tried to make a new account where I knew
both username and password, but it rejected those as well even though they
were correct. Whatever I put in, the window automatically pops back up. Now
for some reason I can't even test the new account at all, as even if I try to
check mail for the new account, it demands I verify the info for the old
account instead (bizzare!).

What the heck is going on here, and can someone help me out?

 

[Gary VanderMolen [MVP]]

You didn't say so, but I get the impression you normally use web-based email
(webmail) rather than a desktop mail client program like Windows Mail .
If so, simply copy that link and paste it into your webmail screen.

 

[GG]

Thanks for the quick response.

Unfortunatly, I'm not really sure what you mean by "paste it into your
webmail screen." Could you be more specific? Keep in mind that email
troubleshooting is brand new territory for me, so I'm not entirely sure
what's going on.

 

[Gary VanderMolen [MVP]]

Well, it would have been helpful if you had shared what your preferred
email service is (Yahoo, Hotmail?). They are all a little different and require
somewhat different treatment.

 

[GG]

Sorry, it's Hotmail. Again, the one causing me problems is windows mail.

What does this link do, exactly?

 

[Gary VanderMolen [MVP]]

It's rather impossible for me to look over your shoulder, but I'd say that link
contains an email address, otherwise Windows would not be attempting to
hand it off to Windows Mail. Windows Mail is the default mail handler in Vista.
You can make Hotmail the default by using this fix:

http://www.winhelponline.com/articl...e-Default-Programs-tool-in-Windows-Vista.html

Even without that fix, you can simply open your Hotmail, start a new message,
then copy & paste that link into the 'To:' address box. You may have to clean
it up a bit after pasting since it can have extraneous information.