So I have been banging my head on the wall for the last few weeks trying to get my email client to work.

Here is the story...

We use a database from Frontrange called Goldmine. Within the DB it has it's own email client which worked fine up until a few weeks ago. Out of the blue I could receive but not send email through the client. The error message we got was identical to one that is caused by a conflict with some anti-virus applications. The problem also did not happen until after I had updated the Norton Anti-Virus on both the PC and the laptop making us believe that was the problem.

We followed all the steps we have done previously when we had this problem but this time it did not work. I spent about a week scouring the net and calling tech support to no avail and finally decided that I should re-format and do a clean install of the OS and Goldmine. That turned in to a nightmare as re-formatting with XP Pro was not as easy as it should have been.

With that all done and Goldmine back in place I ran smack dab in to the same problem. This time we called a higher level of support and stumped them as well. So for the next few days I sat quietly playing keyboard commando looking for an answer.

This morning it popped up, finally. While it was not the exact problem or even the same software the port they were using was the same one I was using and having problems with. I called my ISP and asked them some questions and found the answer we had been looking for. My ISP is filtering out all emails that do not originate from their domain names. Since my email account is with a different service but going through my ISP they have been blocking me as spam.

Sad thing is the call lasted less then 3 minutes and even though I was babbling the lady knew exactly what I was talking about and had the answer instantly. No waiting on hold while she ran to get a cup of coffee, no being put on hold while she called someone else to get an answer, none of that. She gave me the URL to go to so I could opt out of the blocking and within a day or so someone will call to verify and I should be good to go.

Now that I look back at this I am laughing. I just spoke with my father (who owns the company) and he said that I offered that as a solution the second day we had this problem. D'oh! I had the answer in my hand.........