QUESTION: I have a desk top that uses Outlook Express and a lap top that uses Microsoft Outlook to send and receive emails. My email address is the same for both but I don’t receive the same emails on both services. I may receive 10 emails in Outlook Express and I will receive only five of them in Microsoft Outlook. How is this possible if the two computers are set up to send and receive using the same email address? Tony
ANSWER: Not only is email one of the most popular uses for a PC Tony, but it is also one of the most frequent causes of frustration. Let’s begin by describing the two classes of email services and how they behave. First, let’s discuss Internet mail. This class of service uses programs such as Outlook and Outlook Express to retrieve messages from an email server. When these programs start up they perform a Send/Receive operation which not only transfers all messages from the server to your PC but deletes them from the server at the same time. This is not always understood by users. What this means is if you access your server with one PC today, and then access your server several days later with the other PC, you will only get the messages that were sent to the server within this several day period. This makes it impossible to have the same messages on both PC’s. This reason alone is why you should not use this type of setup. Not to worry, there is a simple change to the settings in these programs that will solve your problem. Before we get to that, however, let’s discuss the other class of email known as Web mail.
Web mail services including Yahoo mail and Hotmail behave differently. When you log onto these services, the messages are not transferred to your PC. Instead, they continue to reside on the server until you delete them. This makes it possible to access your Web mail account from any PC with an Internet connection as long as you know your user ID and password. The messages are always there and will be the same regardless of the PC that connects to the service. This makes Web mail attractive for many users.
Now for some solutions. One way to resolve your problem is to change the settings in both Outlook Express and Outlook to leave messages on the server. To set this up with Outlook Express, open the program, click Tools, Accounts and select the account you want to change. Click Properties on the right. Next, click the Advanced tab and place a check in the option “Leave a copy of messages on server”. Click OK and Close. With Outlook, go to Tools, Email Accounts and select “View or change existing E-mail accounts”. Select an account and click Change. Click the More Settings button and select the Advanced tab. Check “Leave a copy of messages on server”. Click OK and then Cancel.
With both of these programs you can elect to have messages removed after a particular number of days which is highly recommended. Otherwise, the server will accumulate too many messages. For example if you select a period of 10 days, once you download messages with the first PC, you have 10 days to access these same messages with the other PC. You should set this period to coincide with your particular habits.
A second way to resolve your problem is to pick one of the PC’s, let’s assume it’s the one with Outlook Express. Change its options to leave messages on the server. On the other PC, never use Outlook to read your messages. Instead, use your provider’s Web mail service. Using Cox Cable as an example, you do this by going to webmail.cox.net and signing in to the Cox email server. As long as you only read the messages and do not delete any, they will be available for either PC to read at a later time. For providers other than Cox, you can contact them and ask how to access their Web mail. You can read more about the Cox Web mail service at http://bit.ly/110sEb.