This error is telling you that the problem is with your mail server, not Outlook Express. It usually happens if you’ve just joined us and you used to access a different email account through your Outlook Express, or if you currently access a few different email accounts through Outlook Express.

Here's how to fix it.

Are you a Mail for Mac user? Click here to carry out this check.

On a Windows PC, do the following:

1. From your desktop, click on Start and then Email from the pop up menu.
   
   
   
   By the way, the screens shown are Windows XP screens. If you have another version of Windows, the steps described in this section are the same, although the screens will look a bit different.
2. Click on Tools, and then click on Accounts to display the sub-menu shown below.
   
   
   
   

   The Internet Accounts window displays:


3. Select the Mail tab. The following window displays, showing all the mail accounts that you have configured.





4. To edit or verify the account from the other ISP, highlight it and then click on Properties. The Properties window displays:



5. Click on the Servers tab. The following screen displays:
   
   
   
   

   This screen shows the server settings of the mail account you have selected.

6. Change the Outgoing mail (SMTP): setting to either:
   smtp.ntlworld.com (if your email address ends in @ntlworld.com), or
   smtp.blueyonder.co.uk (if your email address ends in @blueyonder.co.uk).
7. Click on Apply, and then click on OK to exit. This returns you to the Internet Accounts screen.



8. If there are any other non-Virgin Media accounts listed in this screen, repeat steps 3 – 7 for each of them.
9. To end the procedure, click on Close.

That’s it! Try again to access your email, and see how you go.