Mail Server Troubleshooting

If you see errors on startup, in monitors, logs or users report problems, use this list of common problems to fix your Mail server.

See also How to Get Help , WebSTAR Debug Plug-In and General Server Troubleshooting Guidelines .

Repairing Damaged Mail Files

If you have a disk crash or other disaster, and lose your mail database, the WebSTAR Mail server can recreate it for you.

1 Quit the WebSTAR server.
2 Remove the WebSTAR Mail Users file from the WebSTAR Mail Data folder in the Plug-Ins folder. Make sure you keep the other files in that folder. You may be able to retrieve some messages from the Mail Users file later.
3 Launch the WebSTAR application again.
4 The server will auto-recreate a new file containing all the previous email messages and account information. It does this by comparing the latest backup ( WebSTAR Mail Backup.1 ) and the Transaction Log and rebuilding the WebSTAR Mail Users file based upon the information contained within.
5 You will see a message in the Mail Monitor window when this is successful.

The automatic recovery is dependent on the backup snapshots and transaction logs being present and current. Unless you delete the backup files, they should always be in place and ready for recovery

Server Not Getting Messages

If your server does not get messages that you send from other systems, there are several possible troubleshooting steps:

Verify with your ISP or network administrator that you are allowed to run an email server. If there is a firewall, they will have to make holes on the mail ports for your server as well.
Look at any "bounce" messages and see if the reasons given provide any useful information.
Send yourself a message and watch the Mail Monitor window: you should see an SMTP IN / Connect From entry.
Check your DNS record for your server. If you are getting Web and FTP requests, that means your general DNS record is probably right. So make sure that the MX (Mail Exchange) record does not send your email to some other mail host. For more information, see Checking Your DNS Entries .

Log Error Messages

Internet address not found -- the recipient's mail host could not be located. The WebSTAR Mail server will put the message in the queue and try again.

Internet connection failed, try later -- there was a TCP/IP error, such as a network failure at the router, DNS server, or somewhere between your server and the recipient's mail server. The WebSTAR Mail server will put the message in the queue and try again.

Mail Trace File

The WebSTAR Mail server contains a great deal of consistency checking and detection of potential problems. If there are internal errors, the server will write a file named mail.trace in the main WebSTAR Server Suite folder. StarNine Tech Support may request that you send them this file.

Client Problems and Error Messages

As mail administrator, you'll have to help your users with their email problems, including error messages and other client problems.

Error: We do not relay

This message means that the WebSTAR Mail SMTP server will not send a message for this client.

Have the user log in and read mail before trying to send messages. This is a spam-prevention measure ensuring that your users are the only ones sending messages from this server. You can extend the open period for sending mail: see Timeout .
Check the Mail Settings Connections panel to see if Enable SMTP Forwarding is checked. If not, the server will not send messages, so check this box.
Check the Mail Settings Allow/Deny list as described in Restricting Access to SMTP Incoming . If you deny access to a particular domain name or IP address range, any otherwise legitimate user who tries to send mail from one of those hosts will have their messages rejected.

Insufficient memory to accept posted message

If users see this message, they have reached the message storage limit for the user account. POP users should make sure they do not have their client set to leave messages on the server and IMAP users should move messages from the server to their local mailboxes, or delete them.

No Trash Mailbox on server

When using IMAP, if a user deletes a message, the mail client may put it into a Trash mailbox on the server. However, if the account does not already have a Trash box, and the IMAP Privileges are not set to allow them to create mailboxes, they will see this error. To fix it, go into the WebSTAR Admin, Mail Settings, Users & Accounts panel and check the box by Create Mailboxes .

IMAP messages not deleting

Some clients do not delete IMAP messages by default, they just mark them for deletion. WebSTAR Mail does not perform the delete until the client sends it the command. If your client does this, you may be able to override the default behavior, for example, in Netscape Communicator 4.5, go to the Preferences, select Mail Server, click on the mail server, select IMAP an change the "When I delete a message:" radio button to "Remove it immediately".

Can't use @ in User Name Field

If a user puts their entire email address in a POP or IMAP client user name field, they may get an error. They should enter the user name in that field, and the host name in the POP (or IMAP) and SMTP host name field. As there is only one user of a given name for a mail host, that is enough to identify them uniquely.

The Web mail interface does require users to log in using the email@host format, but POP clients construct it from separate fields.

Web Mail Login Error When Accounts Exist

When logging into the web browser mail interface, users must enter the entire email address if there is more than one user of that name on any mail host on the server.

If users enter an ambiguous user name without the mail host name, they will see the error:

 

The name or password you entered was incorrect - please try again.

XTND XMIT Problems

Some clients use the XTND XMIT (extended transmittal) protocol to send messages without using the standard SMTP login. WebSTAR Mail server 4.0 does not support this protocol.

Changing Passwords

Some clients, such as Eudora, help users change their POP or IMAP password remotely. WebSTAR Mail server 4.0 does nto support this process, so you will have to change the passwords manually.

Postmaster Problem Messages

When incoming mail is not accepted due to insufficient disk space, or when automatic backups fail for any reason, the Mail server will send a message to the Postmaster account. That's another reason to make sure you check mail for this account frequently.