When you try to send or receive email, you may receive this error message: Can't send and receive mail, or the host 'smtp.virgin.net ' could not be found.
This error can have a number of causes, so here’s a checklist to help you diagnose the problem.
After each of these steps, check again to see if you can send (or receive) an email
- Check to see if you can open a web page.
To do this, just enter a website address into your web browser, like www.virginmedia.com.
If you can open a web page, go to step 2.
If you can’t open a web page, there might be a problem with your broadband connection. Go to Why can’t I connect to the Internet? to find out more.
- Check your account settings
- Check if anti-virus or firewall settings are blocking emails
Even though anti-virus software and firewalls are important for your computer’s security, they can sometimes cause problems with Internet connectivity or stop certain programs from working properly.
Don’t uninstall your anti-virus program or firewall permanently, since this can cause all kind of other problems. What you can do is disable or uninstall your security features temporarily to see if they are causing the problem.
If you have PCguard Firewall installed, click on PCguard technical support, then click on Firewall to find out how to restore the default settings (also called rules). If you have PCguard anti-virus installed, click on PCguard technical support, then click on Anti-Virus to find out how to remove and reinstall the anti-virus software. If you have another firewall or anti-virus program installed, check the user guide that came with it to find out how to restore the default settings.
If you still can’t connect, and you are comfortable using DOS commands, you could try using the netsh command. This only applies if you are a Windows XP user or a Windows Vista user though.
If none of these work, or you need someone to talk you through it, go technical support to get a helping hand.
