1. That you are typing your e-mail address correctly. For example: jpublic@vonl.com.
2. That you are typing your e-mail address in all lower case letters.
3. That you are typing your e-mail password in all lower case letters.
4. That your browser is set-up to accept cookies.
5. That your mail box is not currently in use, or that mail is being downloaded from a mail client such as Outlook.

1. That your mailbox is over quota.
2. That a message someone sent you was returned to them, because sufficient enough space was not available in your mailbox to accept the message.

We've found that the following sometimes helps this problem:

• Getting the latest version of Outlook Express.
  (Outlook Express 4.x seems to be the worse version.)
• Be sure that you aren't loosing your connection to the Internet.
• Make sure their is plenty of available disk space on the C drive.
  (Typically, 100 Megabytes of free space is sufficient enough available space on your C drive.)
• We've also found that Eudora, seems not to have this problem.

Deleting the "Blocked" E-Mail Message.

1. Make a note of which e-mail message number could not be downloaded by your e-mail client software program.
2. Close your e-mail client software program.
3. Point your browser to: http://webmail.vonl.com.
4. Login using your e-mail address and password.
5. Delete the e-mail message that your e-mail client software (Outlook/Outlook Express etc) could not download.
   (For example, if message number 5 could not be downloaded by your e-mail client software program, you would want to delete the 5th message from the top in the list on our Webmail interface.)
6. Log out of our Webmail interface, and close your browser.
7. Open your e-mail client software program again, and check your e-mail.

Q:    Is it possible to get a virus from .gif or .jpg images?
 
A:    We have received a TON of e-mail asking me if it is possible to receive a virus/worm/trojan via any type of image. The simple is answer is: NO, it is NOT possible, and there hasn't been a single reported case of infection via a graphic file. Why? images are NOT an executable program by its very nature. When you open an image you are not executing a program which may infect your computer with a virus, etc. Again, the key here is that if the program isn't an executable (.exe, .com, Word, Excel or other Office document), you aren't risking infection. Use your head, be smart, be educated. It's always a wise idea to simple delete and trash any e-mail attachments you aren't sure about.

Here's a good way to open a graphic. Once you receive the image, open your graphic program and THEN open the graphic file from the program (instead of double-clicking on the file icon and launching the program). This will make sure that infact the image is an image, and not an execuitable file. If your viwer does not display the image, delete the attachment, and do not open it the other way. (by clicking on it's icon in your e-mail program)

As always, it is strongly recommended that you have a virus scanning software package installed, and keep it up-to-date. Remember an ouce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

---

Q:    I am going out of town for a few (days/weeks/months) and I would like to have a message sent back to my e-mail correspondence letting them know that they may not receive a reply for a few (days/weeks/months). How can I do this?
 
A:    You can set a "vacation" reply message on your e-mail account. Something similar to the following:

Hello! My server received your e-mail message, but I am out of town right now, and cannot check my e-mail. I will be back into town on (insert date here) and you will receive a personal reply after that date.

To do this point your browser to:

Our Mail Server

Enter your e-mail address and e-mail account password.

NOTE: It is YOUR responsability to remove this vacation reply message after you return.

---

Q:    When I check my mail, I get nothing. Why is that? 

A:    The reason for this is that the mailbox is empty and no new messages have been sent to the e-mail address.

---

Q:    What is my mailbox size limit?

A:   Each mailbox comes with only 10240 Kilobytes of space, which comes out to be approximately 10 megabytes of space.

---

Q:    What can I do about SPAM email?

A:   Here is an article we've written about what you can do about spam. Alternatively you can prevent yourself from being a target of spam all together. Here are six ways.

Back To Top

---

E-mail Questions About Outlook Express

Q:    How do I setup my first email account?

A:  

1. On the 'Tools' menu. click 'Accounts'
2. In the Internet Accounts dialog box, click the 'Add' button.
3. Select 'Mail' to open the Internet Connection Wizard, and then follow the instructions to establish a connection with the mail server.

---

Q:    How do I set-up multiple E-Mail accounts in Outlook Express?

A:    Click Here to read all about it.

---

Q:    How do I setup multiple Identities in my Outlook Express?

A:    Click Here to read all about it.

---

Q:    How do I determine what version of Outlook Express I have?

A:   Many users have posted messages asking how to tell what Build of Outlook Express they have installed on their computer. To make this determination, open Outlook Express and go to Help | About Microsoft Outlook Express. In the resulting dialogue box than pops up, the four digits of the number at the top of that box after the second period is the "build" that is installed on your computer. For example the full number for Build 1008.3 is 4.71.1008.3.

---

Q:    When I am trying to log on to check my mail, password box keeps popping up asking me to re-enter my password. Why does that happen?

A:   Make sure that the password and the username is being typed in lower case and that both are correct. Also verify that the password has not been changed. If you are unsure what your password is please contact Village Online Technical support at (281) 820-1234.

---

Q:    When downloading my mail it gets stuck on a particular message; i.e. hangs up when getting message (#) of (#).

A:    The best solution is to follow these steps.

1. Click Start and select 'Run'.
2. In the white box, type 'telnet'.

   It will open up a window.

3. At the top, click 'Connect', then 'Remote System'.
4. Under hostname, type in 'mail.vonl.com'.
5. Under 'Port' type in 'pop3'.
6. Click 'Connect'.

   After this, you should see two lines saying '+OK server1.vonl.com POP3 server.....'.

7. Type in 'user username', where 'username' is your login username and hit enter.

   You won't see this being typed in, but trust us, its there. Then it should say '+OK Password required for [username].

8. Type in 'pass password', where 'password' is your login password.

   Then you should see '+OK Maildrop has ## messages (#### octets). After this, the message that Outlook Express was hanging on, i.e; hung up on message 2 of 10, then here you would type

9. 'dele 2', then you should see a confirmation of it being deleted.
10. Type 'quit' here to exit the system.
11. Close your TELNET window, and try checking your email again.

    If this doesnt resolve the problem, then you may contact the Technical Support at (281) 820-1234, Monday - Friday, 9am to 7pm. Saturday and Sunday, 1pm to 6pm.

---

Q:    How can I send attachments along with my message?

A:   Attaching Files: Three ways exist to attach files to a message or post. First, click on the Paper Clip button in the Compose Message window and select the file that you wish to attach. Second, from inside Windows Explorer, copy the file that you want to attach, navigate back to inside your Compose Message window, right click and select paste. Third, you can drag and drop files from Windows Explorer into the Compose Message window of your message or post.

Attaching Multiple Files at Once:

Using the paperclip icon in the Compose Message window, you may only add one attachment to a message at a time. Many users have requested that OE be modified so that users can attach multiple files at once. This isn't possible using the paperclip icon or the Insert | Attachment menu option. However, a very nice work around is available to accomplish this requested functionality. First, open a Compose or Reply Message window and compose your message or your reply. Second, open Windows Explorer and highlight all of the files that you want to attach to the post that you are composing. Third, drag and drop all of those files over the top of the New or Reply Message window that is on your toolbar and hold them there long enough for the New or Reply Message window to pop up and become active again. Once the New or Reply Message window pops up, let the attachments go in the body of the body of the message. There you have it -- multiple files attached at once.

---

Q:    How can I set up my Outlook Express so that it Auto-completes the e-mail address?

A:    OE allows users to automatically complete email addresses in the To, CC, or BCC fields. To access this functionality, go to Tools | Options | Send and make sure that you have enabled "Automatically complete e-mail addresses when composing". Note that when you have enabled this feature, the keyboard shortcuts that otherwise allow you to quick search for an email address, e.g., CTRL + K or ALT + K, will not work because the address already will be complete. (Note: In order for Auto-complete to work, e-mail addresses must be saved it the Windows Address Book).

---

Q:    How do I add e-mail addresses to the Windows Address Book?

A:  Open Outlook Express

1. Click on 'Tools'
2. Click on 'Address Book'
3. Click on 'New' and choose 'New Contact'
4. Fill in the First Name, Last Name, and the e-mail Address then click on 'Add' after each e-mail address until all of them are entered
5. Click on 'Ok' and close the address book.

---

Q:    Why do my new messages turn from bolded letters to regular letters?

A:  When a message is kept highlighted for several seconds, that message is marked as read. Outlook Express has options that apply to both Mail and News under Tools | Options | Read to mark a message as having been read after previewing that message for "X" seconds. Alternatively, you can opt not to have a message automatically marked as read by simply leaving this option disabled.

Please note that even if you have disabled the "mark as read" option, if you scroll the preview window (press Page Down or the down-arrow or click the scroll bar), this action is interpreted by Outlook Express as reading the article (as opposed to just passing through) and, therefore, the article is marked as having been "read." In addition, using the CTRL + ENTER keyboard shortcut also will mark messages as read.

To mark all messages as read, you have three options. First, you can use the menu bar and go to Edit | Mark All as Read. Second, you can install the Mark All as Read button on your tool bar. After doing that, all messages will be automatically be marked as read whenever you click on the Mark All as Read button. Third, a keyboard shortcut has survived since the days of IMN, the predecessor to Outlook Express. To mark all as read without using the menu bar or the tool bar button, simply hold down CTRL + SHIFT + A.

---

Q:    How do I monitor the downloaded contents?

A:   Whether HTML should or should not be used in newsgroups always is a hot topic. As a first layer of security, go to Tools | Options | Security and double check the security level under your Internet Zone. In addition to content that can harm your computer, several users have requested the ability to "turn off" HTML, sounds, graphics, etc in OE. You can do this by adjusting the settings under the configuration options in IE that you can find under View | Internet Options | General. Outlook Express will respect those settings.

---

Q:    Is there an easier way to scroll down on an email message?

A:   When reading a message, if you press the Page Down key, Outlook Express will respond accordingly. However, another way to do this that is easier to use also exists -- simply press on the space bar to achieve the same result. This works in the Compose Message, Read Message and Preview Pane windows in Mail and in the Compose Message and Read Message windows in News.

---

Q:    Can I install or re-install Outlook Express without re-installing the Internet Explorer?

A:   In general many people have asked how to re-install Outlook Express. Although this isn't documented anywhere, you can engage in a "selective" re-install of the Outlook Express component only, which is much easier than re-installing the entire Internet Explorer bundle. Note that you can re-install Outlook Express over the top of an existing Outlook Express install without any problems. By reading and following the procedures to Selectively Un-installing Outlook Express, you also can un-install OE only. In either case, you can re-install OE by following one of the procedures set forth below.

Re-installing from Your Hard Drive: If you have the IE4 install files on your HD, you can re-install the files by clicking on ie4setup.exe. The Active X Install routine will ask you if you want to do a full install or only missing components. Select the missing component option and you should be in business.

Re-installing from the MS Web Site: Go to the IE 4 page, click on Download, and on the Download page in the left column; you'll see a paragraph entitled "Internet Explorer 4.0 Add-ons". Click on the link in that paragraph, click again on the next page and you'll arrive at an Install Wizard that will assess what IE 4 components that you do and don't have installed on your machine. Even if it says that you have OE installed, click on the box anyway, and when it asks if you want to re-install OE, say "Yes". The re-install procedure should take about 15 minutes if you have a 28.8k modem.

(Note the above procedures will work only with the OE version corresponding to IE version. For example, only IE 4.0 for OE 4.72 and IE 5.0 for OE 5.0 will work).

---

Q:  What does 'Reply to All' feature do and how does it work?

A:   Both Mail and News have a "Reply to All" feature. You can access this feature in either application by customizing your toolbar or by using the pull down menus. In News, select News | Reply to Newsgroup and Author and in Mail, select Mail | Reply to All. Despite the similarity in the name of the Reply to All feature, it works differently in each application. In News, when you select Reply to All, News will include the newsgroup in the To: line and also will carbon copy the person who posted the message via email. In Mail, the Reply to All feature has meaning only if you happen to be one of several people who has received the same e-mail message. Using Reply to All in this instance will send your reply to all of the people who received the original e-mail message. Alternatively, simply using Reply to Author will only send your reply to the person who posted the message (and not to all the other recipients).

---

Q:    When I start Outlook Express, I get error message: "WnetGetUser returned".

A:   When you start OE, you may receive the following error message: "WnetGetUser returned". This error message can occur if (i) your Computer Name contains invalid spaces or characters; or (ii) you do not have a network client installed. To check your Computer Name, open the Network applet from the Control Panel and click on the Identification tab. Change the computer name in the Computer Name box so that it contains only any combination of letters (A-Z) and numbers (0-9). Do not use non-alphanumeric characters or blank spaces. When prompted to reboot your computer, do so. If that doesn't fix the problem, then you'll need to install a network client. You can do this too from the Network applet. Go to the Configuration tab, click Add, and then double-click Client. In the manufacturer's box, click the appropriate manufacturer for your network. If you don't have a network, select Microsoft and in the Network Client's box, select Client for Microsoft Networks and then OK out. You may be prompted to insert your Windows disk or CD and you will be prompted to restart Windows again.

Back To Top

---

General Questions

Q:    Why do I have to type my password every time I log on to the Internet? Is there a way around it?

A:   To do this, go to your Dial-Up Networking folder, right click on your desired connection and select Connect. If the box "Save Password" has a check mark in it, then it should work correctly.

For technical information about password being not saved, visit Microsoft's Tech Support page. http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q137/3/61.asp

---

Q:    How can I find someone's E-Mail address on the Web?

A:   Several Web sites have people search capabilities, here are some links to try.

Note: These types of search engines are only effective if the person(s) you are searching for are registered with the search engine you are using.

 

Yahoo! People Finder	Who Where
Bigfoot.com	InfoSpace
HotBot - Search Smarter.

Q:  "No Transport Provider Was Available for Delivery to This Recipient"?

A:   Click here to view Microsoft's explanation of the error message.

Back To Top

Back to Support