server problems ?

Question

i have windows live 2012 as my email but i also have an msn email account. i did have my windows live account to also import my msn emails to this one so i only had to look in one place to read my messages.everything was fine until about 2 days ago when it kept saying your server has terminated your connection. so after a while i thought i would remove and reinstall my email account which meant removing all my server settings. i made a note of them before doing so but now when i try it tells me i have to download the folders but when i try doing that i get a message saying terminated again. i will give the settings minus my email address and please tell me if i have got it right

IMAP

incoming imap-mail.outlook.com port 587

outgoing smtp-mail.outlook.com port 993

i have the relevant boxes ticked server requires secure connection

as i say it says i must download folders before i can read messages but it wont let me.

i'm not a pc expert but any replies in plain for me please but heeeeelp

Answer 1

The error message typically specifies error number 0x800CCC0B

In this error, your e-mail account can't log-on (or can't send). This is caused by your e-mail service provider, which has made changes to its server settings without your consent. As a result, users of older e-mail programs such as Windows Live Mail (WLM) can no longer log-on (or can no longer send messages).

To find out whether this is the error you are experiencing, open your e-mail account on the e-mail provider's website, in a web browser. Look at the settings for POP and IMAP. There are two things you might need to deal with:

1. If the website's POP/IMAP settings now specify a different server address to the one you use in WLM, change the server address in WLM to match the new address mentioned on the website.

To check or alter the settings used by WLM: in WLM's left-hand folders pane, right-click on the E-mail Account's name; then click on the 'Properties' option; then click on the 'Advanced' tab. Ask here if you need further help.

2. If the website's POP/IMAP settings now specify TLS and/or STARTTLS as the encryption method, those protocols have been substituted for the original SSL protocol. Your account has changed from using SSL security to using the newer encryption method "TLS" or "STARTTLS".

The following fix involves editing the Windows Registry.

Windows 7 received an update in 2016 (known as KB3140245) which adds TLS 1.2 support, but it is not enabled by default, so it requires the user to make a small change in the Windows registry. WLM's account settings only refer to SSL, but it will use TLS if it's available, i.e. if that registry change is made.

Update number KB3140245 is almost certainly installed on your system already. It doesn't by itself solve your problem: you need to also enable TLS 1.1 and 1.2 by making the registry change I describe below.

If you don't already have it, update KB3140245 (“Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems") is available for download from the Microsoft Update Catalog for Windows 7 systems:

http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/search.aspx?q=kb3140245

To install this update, you must have the Windows 7 Service Pack 1 installed. You must edit the Windows registry to add the "DefaultSecureProtocols" key.

To do this automatically, click here:

https://download.microsoft.com/download/0/6/5/0658B1A7-6D2E-474F-BC2C-D69E5B9E9A68/MicrosoftEasyFix51044.msi

In the "File Download" dialog box that opens, click "Run" or "Open", then follow the steps shown in the "Easy Fix" wizard that opens. That wizard creates a Restore Point, so that if you need to reverse the changes you can do a System Restore.

To do the registry edit manually, open the Windows Registry editor, and navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols

If the TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 subkeys are missing (i.e. if the "Protocols" key only has a single subkey named "SSL 2.0"), you need to create them manually. Here's how to do so:

1. Right-click on "Protocols". Select "New", then "Key". Name the new key "TLS 1.1" (without the inverted commas).
2. Right-click on that new key, then create another key underneath it named "Client" (without the inverted commas).
3. Right-click on the new "Client" key. Select "New", then "DWORD (32bit) Value". Name the new item "DisabledByDefault" (without the inverted commas). By default, its value is zero (which is what you need, so leave it as that).
4. Right-click on "Protocols". Select "New", then "Key". Name the new key "TLS 1.2" (without the inverted commas).
5. Right-click on that new key, then create another key underneath it named "Client" (without the inverted commas).
6. Right-click on the new "Client" key. Select "New", then "DWORD (32bit) Value". Name the new item "DisabledByDefault" (without the inverted commas). By default, its value is zero (which is what you need, so leave it as that).

Here is a link to an image which shows what the fixed registry should now look like:

https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/20b2fcb9-e29d-4e52-b9fb-1231c5f6968f?platform=QnA

Answer 2

There are several error codes which you might see.

In the circumstances that you've described, it doesn't matter that you're not seeing the most common one. It should not make any difference, my advice still applies.

To get a connection in Windows Live Mail, you'll normally need to specify in it the same server address that you see on the website. You seem currently to be specifying a different server address in Windows Live Mail, and that is the most likely reason why you can't connect.

You must make the small registry alteration. And then if you put the new server address into Windows Live Mail, you should get a connection to it.

Answer 3

Thank you ClitheroeKid for this clarification.

I did say don't change anything if it is working. I also said if its not working with outlook.com try changing to office365 but if that still doesn't work change it back again.

Para999's question was raised when his settings were suddenly NOT working again (despite having done the registry change and got it working for a while). This is now unclear as some posts have been removed. My reply reflected your earlier comment "you'll normally need to specify in it the same server address that you see on the website" and the fact that Para999 said he had gone into his MSN webmail which showed the office365 servers.

I also said that I hadn't used office365 as server address for the same reason as para999 - because I thought you had to have the program - but I DO realise that this is not the case. Likewise I realise you don't have to use Outlook software to use the outlook.com servers. Personally I use mail.live.com servers because that is what was quoted by Microsoft for use when live.co.uk email addresses (which is what I have) were initiated.

The link I gave for the various Microsoft servers has been removed

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/pop-imap-and-smtp-settings-8361e398-8af4-4e97-b147-6c6c4ac95353 

Also removed was the fact that Para999's Port numbers as quoted in the original question are reversed according to the Microsoft information: they should be IMAP (incoming) Port 993 and smtp (outgoing) 587

Sorry I didn't mean we only "use" SSL in WLM - I meant that SSL is the only box given (labelled) in WLM so that is what we have to check/tick. I realise the registry change allows TLS. I should have used a different word rather than "use" in that sentence, or better still a fuller explanation of what I meant to say about ticking/checking a box.

I think para999's problem yesterday must have been temporary server issues which resolved themselves of their own accord.

Most of my posts (and some of Para999's) seem to have disappeared from this thread ! This makes some of the situation unclear, confusing and a bit of a nonsense. I don't find this at all helpful to anyone.

I'm sure we are all trying with the best intentions to help one another and anyone else with similar issues.

I appreciate your knowledgeable help where we non-techies have been struggling (and often panicking). Thanks again.