Why will my e-mails not "send"? I can receive then but when

I write up an e-mail and hit "send", it stays in the "outbox", and then comes the message:

Connection to the server has failed. Acct comcast.mail.net
Server SMTP comcast.net protocol SMTP port 2T Secure (SSL) No socket error 10060
Error OX800cccde.

It is completely gibberish to me. I don't know when this started but I have noted that the last few days, several times a screen popped up asking me to verify my password. The dots were already filled in where I would normally enter it so I just clicked OK and it was fine.

What if I just did a system restore to a week or so ago, had no problem then.

Thanks for any help.
(don't forget, I'm a computer idiot, maybe I did something?)


OOPS...Outlook Express

Open Outlook Express.

Select "Accounts" from the "Tools" menu at the top.

The Outlook Express "Internet Accounts" dialog box will appear. Click on the "Mail" tab at the top.

In the "Internet Accounts" window, select your Comcast e-mail account and click on the "Properties" button.

Click on the "Servers" tab at the top of the properties window.

Make sure a check is in the box next to "My server requires authentication" under the "Outgoing Mail Server" section. Also be sure "Log on using Secure Password Authentication" is NOT checked. Click the "Settings" button in the "Outgoing Mail Server" section and be sure that "My outgoing mail server (SMTP) requires authentication" is checked and the "Use same settings as my incoming mail server" option is selected.

Click on the "Advanced" tab at the top of the properties window. Uncheck the box "this server requires a secure connection (SSL)" if it is checked.

Click "OK" at the bottom of the properties window.

Finally, click on the "Close" button in the lower right of the "Internet Accounts" window and your new settings have been saved.

See if that helps.

send mail. Everything you said to do conformed to your instructions. I did not have to change anything. Still get the same error message. I did note that
Incoming (POP3) mail.comcast.net
Outgoing (SMTP) smtp.comcast.net

SSL not checked.

Nothing seems to be any different than your note. I have never had this problem before so I can't tell if something is now different than it was a few days ago.

Is this a possible problem with Comcast? If it is, I will waste half my day on the phone with them.

"...SMTP port 2T Secure..."

That should be port 21.

If that's not it, this sounds like a firewall/anti-virus problem at first blush. Something is blocking communication. Have you changed, upgraded, messed around with, etc. any of your anti-virus software or your firewall lately?

Post 25

and the error # ix OX800CCCOE

The only thing I have done in the last week or so is updated my anti-virus)AVG) and Ad-Aware, SpywareBlaster and run scans. Also did a windows update yesterday. I run IE6 SP2. Have not touched firewall(Windows)

Had port 21 on my mind for other, unrelated reason.

Port 25 is correct.

Do you have the e-mail scanning feature of AVG turned on? If so, turn it off and try to send something.

OnEdit: Just so you know, this is a common error. It just means something was blocking communication. If the port and server settings are correct, it's almost always anti-virus or firewall related when sending is the problem.

Recycle the power on your modem and router and test it.

Try booting into "safe mode with networking" and test it.

Create a new Outlook Express identity using your current account credentials and test it.

Contact Comcast tech support.

You can use Comcast webmail for messaging until you get this resolved.

with Comcast. They had me change the Port from 25 to 587. I did so and sent a dummy e-mail to my hotmail acct. Worked as usual. They had a ready answer after having me copy and paste the error message for them to see. I have a feeling I'm not the only one having this problem. As usual, you are all great.

Oh, it's *that* problem.

This has been happening with Comcast for awhile. Port 25 is blocked. It's blocked on Comcast's end.

I don't know exactly what's going on with that. It seems to be intermittent, but I'm sure there's a pattern to it. I can still use port 25 with no problem, but a lot of people can't.

The mention of port 587 is what made me remember this.

Glad you got it worked out.