Gerard Bok wrote:

The aim is to use Outlook 2003.
Couldn't get that operational at all, so for the time being, we
settled for Outlook Express instead.

Synchronize accounts produces loads of 0x800CCC0F errors.

HI.

If disabling Windows XP Firewall solves the problem, then you can/should:

Disable it if not needed - anyway you should normally use a network perimeter firewall.

Or re investigate the exceptions you try to use.
You can try exceptions by application exe file name (Add Program), instead of tcp port.
Please note that exception by port number at the client side is irrelevant because such exceptions are intended for server side
applications.


Another suggestion - you have mentioned that you are running "Courier imap" server which uses Maildir format.
Therefor, another possible troubleshooting step might be:
install a different imap server that supports Maildir format, and test how it performs.
Or better and safer test - install a totally different server on different hardware beside the real one, and put some test
mailboxes on it, then configure one of the client to work against that server and check.


Another thing to test is your firewall - it might be related to the problems that packets come out of order and this might
indicate a lower layer (OSI layer 2-4) related problem .
One way to rule this out is simply to use a different firewall from the many options out there.
Again - you can implement a parallel firewall beside the "real" one, and configure a specific PC to use the testing firewall as
default gateway, without affecting the rest of the network.

What do you think?

Yizhar Hurwitz
http://yizhar.mvps.org

On Sat, 11 Mar 2006 23:39:07 +0200, Yizhar Hurwitz
wrote:

Gerard Bok wrote:

The aim is to use Outlook 2003.
Couldn't get that operational at all, so for the time being, we
settled for Outlook Express instead.

Synchronize accounts produces loads of 0x800CCC0F errors.

If disabling Windows XP Firewall solves the problem, then you can/should:

Disable it if not needed - anyway you should normally use a network perimeter firewall.

It's not just Windows' firewall, but any personal firewall.
There is a perimeter firewall (Smoothwall) but I wouldn't like
the PC's to run without protection of their own.

Or re investigate the exceptions you try to use.
You can try exceptions by application exe file name (Add Program), instead of tcp port.
Please note that exception by port number at the client side is irrelevant because such exceptions are intended for server side
applications.

You're quite right there. I feel ashamed, as I should have
realized that before I opened port 143.

Another suggestion - you have mentioned that you are running "Courier imap" server which uses Maildir format.
Therefor, another possible troubleshooting step might be:
install a different imap server that supports Maildir format, and test how it performs.

I cannot run another mailserver on that domain as it is hosted by
a third party.
I am currently testing on another domain though, but it appears
to run the same type of Courier mailserver. (Squirrel is just the
webmail frontend, didn't know that :-)

Another thing to test is your firewall - it might be related to the problems that packets come out of order and this might
indicate a lower layer (OSI layer 2-4) related problem .

I just connected a PC in front of the firewall. With it's own
firewall also switched off, it still produces errors. Even on a
quiet sunday afternoon. (Server load seems to aggregate the
problems.)

One way to rule this out is simply to use a different firewall from the many options out there.
Again - you can implement a parallel firewall beside the "real" one, and configure a specific PC to use the testing firewall as
default gateway, without affecting the rest of the network.

What do you think?

That you provided me with a lot of new tasks :-)
But I appreciate your input. Anything to get the client happy :-)

--
Kind regards,
Gerard Bok