Connection drops when I send and receive

[Pilot Pete]

Be gentle with me guys, I'm a 'user' not an expert!!!

I have a problem which searching here and everywhere else has not solved.

In the last few days when I do a 'send and receive' in Outlook Express it instantly disconnects my connection and I have to re-connect with the 'dial up connection' dialog box. This is the instant I press 'send and receive' and not because the 'hang up when finished' option is selected.

I have reloaded my modem software but that has not solved the problem. I guess you are going to ask lots of questions about what version of this that and the other I have, well it's Windows 98 on BT Broadband with an Alcatel Speed Touch USB external modem. Which version of Outlook Express I don't know so if it's important perhaps someone could tell me how to find out?

The connection is not affected by Internet Explorer, only when I 'send and receive'. Any suggestions most welcome.

PP

[ck4707]

To find out which version of Outlook express you have, open it, click on help and then About Outlook Exoress. The full version number will be shown.

CK

[BRL]

Cant really help you to be honest but, if it is Outlook Express and you reload it and it still happens, then consider using another browser that has e-mail built in like Opera for example. If you are with bt then you can log-on and check your e-mail on the web. Just go to the btinternet home page and look for log-on/sign in and read your mail.
Hope you get it sorted soon, good luck. :)

[Pilot Pete]

Thanks for the replies thus far. I have Outlook Express 5 if that means anything to anyone!

BRL

I do sometimes use the BT service through their website if I am 'down route' somewhere. It's not a problem that I can't get my emails to download, far from it, it's just annoying that all of a sudden I have to re-connect every time I press 'send and receive', once I have connected again it checks my account and downloads fine, without disconnecting until I press 'send and receive' again!

If I reload Outlook Express I take it I will lose everything within my folders? What's the easiest way to take a backup/ copy of them before I do it?

Thanks again

PP

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Pilot Pete,

Personally I do not use OLE. My guess that either in OLE you have options to disconnect from the net after checking for Email.

It would look at your options under the Connection Tab for the box and see if you can a checkmark under:

Hang up after sending and receiving

Just remove the checkmark and you should be set. :ok:

Take Care,

Richard

[E-Liam]

Hi Pete,

Try a repair of IE (OLE and IE run on the same connection).

Two ways to do this...

Click on Start | Settings | Control Panel | Add/Remove Programs, then scroll down the list and highlight Internet Explorer 6.0 and Internet Tools by clicking once. A button will illuminate under the list saying Add/Remove program. Click on that and then click on the option to Repair, and click OK.

or, if that option isn't available, which isn't that uncommon.. :)

Go to Start | Programs | Accessories | System Tools | System Information | Tools | Internet Explorer Repair Tool and do it from there.

Then reboot and see if it's cured the problem.

Cheers

Liam

[Pilot Pete]

Richard

Thanks for the idea, with my limited knowledge I had actually thought of that one! The problem is not that it hangs up after carrying out the 'send and receive', it's that it drops the connection as soon as I press 'send and receive', leaving the 'checking mail' window hanging until the dial up connection box reappears and I connect again!

Hi Liam

You're right, can't do the first option!

Unfortunately, after 'system information' in your second option I do not get a 'Tools' option. There is an 'Internet Explorer' option, but no 'Tools' or 'IE Repair Tool' option behind that. Any ideas?

PP

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Pilot Pete,

You see, you actually know more than you give yourself credit for. ;)

Take Care,

Richard

P.S. Win9X is known for corrupting the Network Protocols. I would uninstall your Network Protocols and install them again.

[E-Liam]

Hi Pete,

The tools option is on the menu bar at the top, rather than in the option list, and the IE explorer repair option is the first on the list. Sorry, I didn't make myself very clear. :(

Cheers

Liam

[olderairhead]

Pilot Pete I have found this site (http://forums.techguy.org/) extremely helpful whenever I have had curly problems. The guys there are gurus, not that they aren't here mind you, but I use it as an alternative sometimes.

Good luck.

OAH

[flyingwysiwyg]

It may be that you have a different connection set up for sending and receiving (it may even have the same settings). If you are already connected and you try to send and receive, it drops the current connection to dial your default Email conection.

Try changing the Email connection to the same as the dial up connection you use from your desktop or start menu.

This is a guess, as I don't have OLE set up, so I can't try for you.

Good Luck

F - Wyg

[mikeddavies]

This may be silly, but if you are using Broadband why have you got a dial up connection enabled?

[pilot-lite]

Windows sees the USB external broadband modems as being no different to a "normal" modem. It even "dials" a dummy number.

Without a Dial-Up Networking connection you won't get connected.

pilot-lite

PS Not a silly question, just a silly operating system.

[mikeddavies]

Thanks - hesitated to ask because some members seem to have a God complex and flame others as a matter of principle. This forum does seem less prone than others tho! Thankfully.

[Pilot Pete]

Captain R

You are a gentleman and I see those CRM skills are as honed as ever!;)

flyingwysiwyg

Using my limit knowledge and looking at the email and internet options through the control panel, both seem to have the same default connection and as I hinted at, this hasn't been changed and it worked fine last week!!!

Liam

Doh! See, told you all I was a 'basic' user! Tried again and the repair did not work with the following message

I.E 5.5 cannot be repaired as file SCRRUN.DLL is missing

Would that be the cause of the problem? It says to reload I.E. which I guess I have to do from the Windows disks?

Thanks again for your continued help chaps.

PP

Edited to add a thanks to olderairhead for the link which I shall try if my fellow ppruners don't manage a solution!

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Pilot Pete,

It even "dials" a dummy number.

It sounds like we have found your problem. There is no need to dial even a dummy number to make a USB Broadband Modem work.

How does your modem connect to the net? Is it PPPoE?

Take Care,

Richard

[E-Liam]

Hi Pete,

You can copy across the scrrun.dll file from your windows disc.

Click Start, and then click Run.

Type sfc, and then press ENTER.

Click Extract one file from installation disk.

In the Specify the system file you would like to restore box, type ...

C:\Windows\System\scrrun.dll

Click Start, click Browse next to the Restore from box, and then locate the Windows installation files. By default, in the OEM version of Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition the installation files are on the hard disk in the C:\Cabs folder. With a retail full version or upgrade version, you can also insert the Windows installation CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive, and then locate the Windows installation files. The folder is named "Win9x". For example, if your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive is D:, the folder is named "D:\Win9x". For Windows 98, the folder is named D:\Win98.
Click OK, and then follow the instructions on the screen.

(courtesy of MS)

For info, the sccrun.dll file is in Win98_57.cab, but just follow the above and you'll be fine.

I would suggest though, upgrading to IE6 by clicking here (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/critical/ie6sp1/default.asp) .

Do the full install, and although it will take a little while to load, it will give you a brand new, out of the box, browser.

Hope that helps,

Cheers

Liam

[BRL]

Hi Pete. If you do install the latest version do remember to back up your address book. I think you can copy it to a disk or something and import it from there when your new copy is up and running. I have been stung twice believe it or not for not doing that, its a right royal pian in the rear I tell you..!! :O

[Pilot Pete]

Here we go again then!

Thanks for the input, especially Liam, tried what you suggested to restore the scrrun.dll file, but believe it or not that file is not on my Win98 disk! I thought it must be me, but it's not, I located the Win98_57 file and it does not appear in there, this was after following your instructions and the 'restore from' function saying it could not find the file.

So I am still none the wiser. I will try downloading IE6, how do I save my address book? Can I just copy it to a memory stick?

Thanks again for the continued help.

PP

[mazzy1026]

Hi guys - heres my 2euros worth !

Courtesy of Microsoft:

To export the Address Book from Outlook Express:

Start Outlook Express.
On the File menu, point to Export, and then click Address Book.
In the Address Book Export Tool dialog box, click Text File (Comma Separated Values), and then click Export.
In the Save exported file as box, type a file name for your exported Address Book file, and then click Browse.
Save your file to the location that you want.

You can save your Outlook Express Address Book in one of two formats, the Comma Separated Values (*.csv) format or the Text Files (*.txt) format, because Word can use either format. In the Save as Type box, click the format that you want to use, click Save, and then click Next.
Click the fields that you want to export as part of your data source, and then click Finish.

NOTE: You can export all of the fields in the Outlook Express Address Book except for Gender, Conferencing Email, and Directory Servers.
When Outlook Express finishes the export procedure, click OK to confirm that the procedure is finished, and then click Close.

-----------------------------------------------

I always find that running the windows update and the office update works a treat for little problems like this. You will often find that other people have had the same experience, and when they get reported to Microsoft, they make patches if enough people tell them !

Go to your start menu and look for the Windows Update link (it might be in programs). This is good as it irons out stupid little errors like this. There is a link in the update page at the top to update MS office too.

Best of luck

Maz :ok:

[BRL]

And when you have your fresh copy of OE6 up and running go to 'Import', similar to above for the export bit and locate where you saved it. Should be a doddle really but we all know what computers are like..!!!
Good luck.. :)

[Pilot Pete]

Thanks again guys,

Going flying for a few days so will try this next week when I'm back.

PP