establish listening on ports 25 & 110, WinXP

[aeinstein]

Hi All,

Can someone let me know how to enable listening for TCP packets on ports 25 & 110 under Windows XP?

I'm having an issue with being able to send and recieve client-based e-mail (Outlook Express 6.0), and am receiving the following message:

The connection to the server has failed. Account: 'mail.optonline.net', Server: 'mail.optonline.net', Protocol: SMTP, Port: 25, Secure(SSL): No, Socket Error: 10060, Error Number: 0x800CCC0E

I understand that the above is caused by a firewall - but even when I shut off all firewalls (I only use one: I have WinXP firewall off, Norton Personal Security trial version on new laptop expired, and I'm currently using Zone Alarm), I'm sill getting the error message referenced above.

I used the netstat -an command to verify whether or not WinXP was listening on 0.0.0.0:25 or 0.0.0.0:110, which is necessary to send & receive e-mail via an e-mail client, and neither where listed. So, it looks like I need to enable listening for ports 25 & 110 on (interface?) 0.0.0.0, which I would most certainly be greatful for any assistance in doing so! :)

TIA

[chrisplatt]

does that computer get its internet through a router?

[aeinstein]

does that computer get its internet through a router?

Yes - I'll try bypassing it to see if it's a router config issue, but it'll have to wait until late this evening my time (3:40pm here, 5:40pm EST). Thanks for the heads-up!!! Should've thought of that myself!!! :o

[aeinstein]

does that computer get its internet through a router?

Sorry to say, but the router is not the issue - that would have been a nice, easy solution!!! ;) I realized after I posted the reply to you above that bypassing the router probably wasn't going to be the issue, because, according to the netstat (-an) command, listening isn't even enabled on ports 25 (POP) & 110 (SMTP) at this point. Typically that would preclude the router as being the initial issue, but then again, I've seen some pretty strange stuff in the world of networks, so, I don't tend to rule anything out entirely. I did just bypass the router, reset the router, logged off, turned off and then restarted the laptop - same results!

So, at this point, I'm still trying to figure out how to manually enable ports 25 and 110 and would greatly appreciate advise on how to do so in WinXP (Media Center Edition).

TIA

[DMR]

I used the netstat -an command to verify whether or not WinXP was listening on 0.0.0.0:25 or 0.0.0.0:110...

Did you do that while (or immediately after) Outlook performed a send/receive operation?

1. In terms of the possible firewall issue:
Simply choosing the "Disable" option in the firewall program's settings/preferences rarely turns the firewall off entirely; you will need to deselect the preference setting that tells the firewall to automatically start when Windows boots, and then restart the computers. After reboot, verify that the firewall is indeed disabled.

2. Is the Outlook error isolated to one computer on the network, or is the conneciton problem common to all/any network clients?

[aeinstein]

Did you do that while (or immediately after) Outlook performed a send/receive operation?...

Yes: before launching OE, as well as immediately after initiating the send request so that netstat -an ran during the attempted data transmission prior to the failure to connect message. I must admit that I didn't run it afterwards, not seeing the sense in that as far as a possible resolution, but, out of a matter of curiosity I'll have to check that out! ;)

...1. In terms of the possible firewall issue...verify that the firewall is indeed disabled....

Yes, that was already done.

...2. Is the Outlook error isolated to one computer on the network, or is the conneciton problem common to all/any network clients?

Well, currently, there's only my laptop on the network, and I use web-based mail clients. Unfortunately, my sister's PowerBook died last week, and she uses an e-mail client (OE) - while setting that up for her is when I ran into the issue that started this thread. :(

Thanks anyway DMR! :)

[DMR]

I can't establish a telnet session on port 25 of the mail.optonline.net server from my computer, although I can telnet to port 110 of that server without a problem. Just a thought, but have you checked with Optimum Online to verify that things are working on their end?
* Is this a send and receive error, or just a send error?

[aeinstein]

...but have you checked with Optimum Online to verify that things are working on their end?...

Yes: I contacted OOL before I made the thread-starting post, as well as having had my brother (who also has OOL) successfully send & receive a test message.

* Is this a send and receive error, or just a send error?

I just double checked: Good news: send only - I'm able to receive messages just fine; Bad news: I ran "nestat 1 -an" (which initiated a continuous nestat -an command at one second intervals), and port 25 was never listed as being listened for ("0.0.0.0:25 Listening" [nor any specific IP, such as "127.0.0.1:25" or "192.168.1.100:25"]). That doesn't make a lot of sense to me since I received the test messages without issue. Unfortunately that seems to point me back at an indeterminate firewall software issue...well, let me phrase that: I knew all along it was a firewall issue, I just thought I might get around it by manually enforcing port listening, after having confirmed and/or reset all firewall settings at their 'no-blocking' settings without resolution. :(

Thanks again DMR :)