Re: problems with fetchmail and sent mail

[Paul E Condon <pecondon@peakpeak.com>]

On Fri, Mar 12, 2004 at 06:53:37PM +0100, Conrad Newton wrote:
> 
> My home mail is fetchmail/postfix/procmail
> based on Debian woody.
> 
> For two years I have been using the same
> system without trouble.  The last update
> of the system was maybe one month ago.
> 
> But since two days ago, fetchmail does
> not work.  A call to
> 
> fetchmail -v
> 
> lists the number of mails waiting, but
> refuses to download any of them.  It
> starts on the first, gives a few dots ...
> and then quits.  I can download mail
> from the POP3 server manually using mutt.
> It also appears that my outgoing mail 
> is not reaching its destination.
> 
> I have not altered the system during
> this time.  I contacted my internet
> service provider (ADSL), and they said
> they had not changed their system either.
> 
> They suggested that there could be a problem
> with my firewall, an SMC Barricade.  This
> router is the same one I have used for the
> last two years.  I have never altered the
> firmware or adjusted any of the default
> values, which so far as I know do not
> make any services available.
> 
> So I am completely at a loss as to what
> could be wrong!  Can someone make a suggestion?
> 
> Conrad
> 

I had the same problem last year. It is a problem at your isp, not
with your fetchmail config.  Depending on how helpful your isp is,
there are several ways to fix it. The basic problem is that your isp's
software has clobbered an email on his server in such a way that his
software won't deliver it to you when requested by fetchmail. If you
can delete that one email on his server, things will start moving
again. 

Maybe you can do this yourself via a web interface to your email.
I had to get a person at the isp to manually delete, because, for
the bad email, the web interface also didn't work. 

I suggest you try the web interface. If it works, problem solved.
If it doesn't work, complain about that to the live person and leave
Linux, etc., out of the discussion.

HTH

-- 
Paul E Condon           
pecondon@peakpeak.com