What is this Windows Live Mail error message?

Question - I use Windows Live Mail and I'm I driven mad by an error message that pops up almost every day. At the bottom of the program window a Receiving Mail' message appears then the following error message appears: 'Server Error Ox800ccc90. Live Mail Error ID Ox800420CD\ By closing and re-launching the program several times I can get rid of the error message, and then the incoming email appears. However, when the program does eventually work, I often get multiple copies of the same email. What is happening? Can I resolve this or should I use another email program?

Answer - There are numerous reasons why I your email account may be experiencing problems. The symptoms you describe suggest that there may be a particular email message that cannot be downloaded for some reason, and this is having a knock-on effect for the rest of the inbox.

The easiest way to check this is to close down Windows Live Mail for the time being and, if possible, make use of the web-based version of your email service. Many internet service providers (ISPs) offer such a facility - for instance, Talktalk account-holders can access their inboxes by visiting www.talktalk.co.uk/mail. Check with your ISP for help here.

After signing into your account, you should be able to see the contents of the inbox. It is possible that this includes an email with a very large attachment. The quickest way to test whether this is causing the problem is to open the email via the webmail interface, download the attachment to your computer and delete the email. Now try launching windows live mail to see if emails are accessible again.