K Maher said:
Can anyone help? I keep getting undeliverable messages
with the following explanation:
"Relaying denied: You must check for new mail before
sending mail"
This seems ridiculous as I click "send and receive"
before I compose. Even doing that doesn't always help
(and I shouldn't have to do that!) Is this new to XP? It
is driving me crazy!
Right, you are clicking the "Send and Receive" button. You do NOT have
a "Receive and Send" button. Most times users do not configure their
e-mail accounts to enable the option to authenticate to their SMTP
(outgoing) mail server. The authentication (username and password)
shown in the first dialog of the properties of an e-mail account is for
the POP server only. ISPs will reuse that POP authentication to then
authenticate that user on their SMTP server, but unless you have first
logged onto the POP server then there is no username and password to
*re*use for authentication to their SMTP server.
Outlook defaults to sending *before* receiving. That way, for example,
if you sent yourself a test email, you would get it retrieved on the
next single mail poll; otherwise, you would have to do 2 mail polls (one
to receive then send [your test email], and another to receive [your
test email] and to send if there is anything pending). What is unclear
is what Outlook uses for authentication when it first logs onto the SMTP
server instead of the POP server. It must default to using your
username and password configured for the POP server even if the "My
outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication is not enabled
(unchecked) under the Outgoing Server tab.
Neo is slightly in error. The option "Log on to incoming mail server
before sending mail" is under the Outgoing Server tab (and not under the
Advanced tab) in the More Settings of an e-mail account (although Neo
did generalize and say "advanced settings area"). That's one way to do
it, by forcing a receive that authenticates first and then secondly
doing a send and reusing the same first authentication. Alternatively,
enabling the "Use same settings as my incoming mail server" or using
"Log on using" (and reentering your username and password) might work,
but the restriction of "receive before send" might be something that is
enforced by your Internet provider rather letting the user use separate
authentications to each server.
Having to "receive before send" is a requirement of your ISP, not of
your e-mail client. I haven't looked but I don't think there is an RFC
that demands a receive before send (and how mail servers operate seems
to be left rather vague at times in the RFCs). For example RFCs 2821
and 2822 describe lots about the SMTP protocol but don't go into how the
servers actually implement that protocol or how authentication is
achieved. I thought "receive before send" was something old mail
software required, but maybe it's something new that helps to ensure an
ISP's SMTP server isn't abused.
