Problem with Outlook sending multiple duplicate e-mails?

[hornbargerp]

Has anyone had a problem with Outlook sending multiple duplicate e-mails (as
many as 32 of the same)? I am running McAfee and AVG as anti-viruses and
they are not showing any viruses.

 

[DL]

If you are running multiple anti virus apps that will cause problems

 

[Brian Tillman]

Has anyone had a problem with Outlook sending multiple duplicate
e-mails (as many as 32 of the same)? I am running McAfee and AVG as
anti-viruses and they are not showing any viruses.

Running two AV programs can lead to conflicts, if you run both of their
real-time scanners. Never scan outgoing mail with anything.

 

[MarkHays]

We ran into the same problem with Outlook 2007 / 2003 and Express. It
typically occurs with larger file attachments. If the "server timeout" value
in Outlook is set to the default, the 'send' function well enter a repetitive
loop if the process is delayed, e.g. by a slow response from the email
server, a poor wireless connection, a large file attachment, a large distro
list, or the time required for an AV scan.

One of our users, for example, sent an email with a 4Mb attachment --
Outlook 2007 delivered 42 copies to the recipient, filling up his email
account. Needless to say, the client wasn't happy! Then 20 "rejected"
copies were returned to her email box -- which also filled up.

The best workaround is to set the 'server timeout' to 5+ minutes if you have
a fast connection -- or more if the connection is slow, e.g. for portables
used by salespeople, with shaky airport WiFi links. To set this, open (edit)
your email account, pick "More Options", then the "Advanced" tab. (Turning
off AV scans can help, but this degrades security -- and the problem can
easily recur, e.g. with a larger file attachment or a poor WiFi link.)

We have documented this bug with Outlook 2007, 2003 and Express (with
various patch levels, up to the most recent), running primarily on XP. The
version of email server doesn't make any difference, e.g. Exchange, Unix,
ISP, etc.

I hope this is helpful.

Mark Hays

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

This has nothing to do with server timeouts - it has everything to do with AV that scans incoming/outgoing email. Disable it and things should return to normal. You may need to uninstall and reinstall without the mail scanning option to completely cure the issue.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.

After furious head scratching, MarkHays asked:

| We ran into the same problem with Outlook 2007 / 2003 and Express. It
| typically occurs with larger file attachments. If the "server
| timeout" value in Outlook is set to the default, the 'send' function
| well enter a repetitive loop if the process is delayed, e.g. by a
| slow response from the email server, a poor wireless connection, a
| large file attachment, a large distro list, or the time required for
| an AV scan.
|
| One of our users, for example, sent an email with a 4Mb attachment --
| Outlook 2007 delivered 42 copies to the recipient, filling up his
| email account. Needless to say, the client wasn't happy! Then 20
| "rejected" copies were returned to her email box -- which also filled
| up.
|
| The best workaround is to set the 'server timeout' to 5+ minutes if
| you have a fast connection -- or more if the connection is slow, e.g.
| for portables used by salespeople, with shaky airport WiFi links. To
| set this, open (edit) your email account, pick "More Options", then
| the "Advanced" tab. (Turning off AV scans can help, but this
| degrades security -- and the problem can easily recur, e.g. with a
| larger file attachment or a poor WiFi link.)
|
| We have documented this bug with Outlook 2007, 2003 and Express (with
| various patch levels, up to the most recent), running primarily on
| XP. The version of email server doesn't make any difference, e.g.
| Exchange, Unix, ISP, etc.
|
| I hope this is helpful.
|
| Mark Hays
|
|
| "hornbargerp" wrote:
|
|| Has anyone had a problem with Outlook sending multiple duplicate
|| e-mails (as many as 32 of the same)? I am running McAfee and AVG as
|| anti-viruses and they are not showing any viruses.

 

[MarkHays]

Dear Milli:

Yes and no. As noted in my previous post, the delay caused by AV scanning
can trip the limit with the Outlook send function -- so you are correct.
(There may also be a more complex issue with some AV products and the send
function.) That said, we found that increasing the server timeout was the
only solution that consistently solved the problem.

In one case, for example, we found that the problem occured with a portable
computer using a WiFi link -- when a nearby microwave oven was on. This
degraded the performance of the WiFi connection, which slowed transmission
with large attached files, and voila! Dozens of copies were sent.

This also points to a basic flaw in the Outlook send function. Increasing
the server timeout limit is only a bandaid. Outlook should never send 62
copies of the same email; there's clearly a bug that needs to be fixed.

Mark Hays

This has nothing to do with server timeouts - it has everything to do with AV that scans incoming/outgoing email. Disable it and things should return to normal. You may need to uninstall and reinstall without the mail scanning option to completely cure the issue.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.

After furious head scratching, MarkHays asked:

| We ran into the same problem with Outlook 2007 / 2003 and Express. It
| typically occurs with larger file attachments. If the "server
| timeout" value in Outlook is set to the default, the 'send' function
| well enter a repetitive loop if the process is delayed, e.g. by a
| slow response from the email server, a poor wireless connection, a
| large file attachment, a large distro list, or the time required for
| an AV scan.
|
| One of our users, for example, sent an email with a 4Mb attachment --
| Outlook 2007 delivered 42 copies to the recipient, filling up his
| email account. Needless to say, the client wasn't happy! Then 20
| "rejected" copies were returned to her email box -- which also filled
| up.
|
| The best workaround is to set the 'server timeout' to 5+ minutes if
| you have a fast connection -- or more if the connection is slow, e.g.
| for portables used by salespeople, with shaky airport WiFi links. To
| set this, open (edit) your email account, pick "More Options", then
| the "Advanced" tab. (Turning off AV scans can help, but this
| degrades security -- and the problem can easily recur, e.g. with a
| larger file attachment or a poor WiFi link.)
|
| We have documented this bug with Outlook 2007, 2003 and Express (with
| various patch levels, up to the most recent), running primarily on
| XP. The version of email server doesn't make any difference, e.g.
| Exchange, Unix, ISP, etc.
|
| I hope this is helpful.
|
| Mark Hays
|
|
| "hornbargerp" wrote:
|
|| Has anyone had a problem with Outlook sending multiple duplicate
|| e-mails (as many as 32 of the same)? I am running McAfee and AVG as
|| anti-viruses and they are not showing any viruses.

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

The sending/receipt of multiple copies is caused by the AV or firewall scanning - it effectively interrupts the "handshake" between Outlook and the mail server so the command sequence never completes. While increasing the server timeout (as well as the send receive interval which should never be less than 10 minutes) will help the problem, the cause remains with the AV/Firewall bollixing up the send/receive commands.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.

After furious head scratching, MarkHays asked:

| Dear Milli:
|
| Yes and no. As noted in my previous post, the delay caused by AV
| scanning can trip the limit with the Outlook send function -- so you
| are correct. (There may also be a more complex issue with some AV
| products and the send function.) That said, we found that increasing
| the server timeout was the only solution that consistently solved the
| problem.
|
| In one case, for example, we found that the problem occured with a
| portable computer using a WiFi link -- when a nearby microwave oven
| was on. This degraded the performance of the WiFi connection, which
| slowed transmission with large attached files, and voila! Dozens of
| copies were sent.
|
| This also points to a basic flaw in the Outlook send function.
| Increasing the server timeout limit is only a bandaid. Outlook
| should never send 62 copies of the same email; there's clearly a bug
| that needs to be fixed.
|
| Mark Hays
|
|
|
| "Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]" wrote:
|
|| This has nothing to do with server timeouts - it has everything to
|| do with AV that scans incoming/outgoing email. Disable it and
|| things should return to normal. You may need to uninstall and
|| reinstall without the mail scanning option to completely cure the
|| issue.
||
|| --
|| Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]
||
|| Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.
||
|| After furious head scratching, MarkHays asked:
||
||| We ran into the same problem with Outlook 2007 / 2003 and Express.
||| It typically occurs with larger file attachments. If the "server
||| timeout" value in Outlook is set to the default, the 'send' function
||| well enter a repetitive loop if the process is delayed, e.g. by a
||| slow response from the email server, a poor wireless connection, a
||| large file attachment, a large distro list, or the time required for
||| an AV scan.
|||
||| One of our users, for example, sent an email with a 4Mb attachment
||| -- Outlook 2007 delivered 42 copies to the recipient, filling up his
||| email account. Needless to say, the client wasn't happy! Then 20
||| "rejected" copies were returned to her email box -- which also
||| filled up.
|||
||| The best workaround is to set the 'server timeout' to 5+ minutes if
||| you have a fast connection -- or more if the connection is slow,
||| e.g. for portables used by salespeople, with shaky airport WiFi
||| links. To set this, open (edit) your email account, pick "More
||| Options", then the "Advanced" tab. (Turning off AV scans can help,
||| but this degrades security -- and the problem can easily recur,
||| e.g. with a larger file attachment or a poor WiFi link.)
|||
||| We have documented this bug with Outlook 2007, 2003 and Express
||| (with various patch levels, up to the most recent), running
||| primarily on XP. The version of email server doesn't make any
||| difference, e.g. Exchange, Unix, ISP, etc.
|||
||| I hope this is helpful.
|||
||| Mark Hays
|||
|||
||| "hornbargerp" wrote:
|||
|||| Has anyone had a problem with Outlook sending multiple duplicate
|||| e-mails (as many as 32 of the same)? I am running McAfee and AVG
|||| as anti-viruses and they are not showing any viruses.