Configuring Your Email Program to Receive Email
When you get a new Internet Service Provider you also get a new email address. You can usually read your email on the ISP's site, but if you want to download your email onto your computer you need to set it up. To receive email into an email program, you have to set up an account. This is usually a very easy process, but if you have never set up an account it can be a little confusing.
You need to know your user name & password for your ISP email account. The ISP should provide your user name & password to you. You generally have the option to select user name & password yourself, and can be whatever you want them to be as long as what you select meets the qualifications set by the ISP.
You also need to know what protocols the ISP uses for email. Most ISPs use POP for incoming (receiving) and SMTP for outgoing (sending) email. There are some exceptions; your ISP will let you know if they use something different.
Outlook Express Set Up
Open your Outlook Express and click on Tools. In the dropdown menu, select Accounts. Click on the Mail tab and select Add, Mail. This will bring up the Connection Wizard. Type your name, as you want it to appear. The next screen will ask for your email address. Type it in carefully and review, as a mistake will prevent you from receiving your email. The next screen is for your email servers. POP3 automatically appears at the top as your incoming email server. The next two lines are for the server names. Again, your ISP will provide these. The next screen is where you type in your username and password. You have now completed your email set up. (for step by step pictures, click here) Send a test message to make sure it works!
Now that you have your Outlook Express all set up & tested, save your settings. If you need to setup again in the event of a system crash you will not have to go through all of that setup again. From Outlook Express, click the Tools menu and choose Accounts. Click the Mail tab, choose the name of the account you want to back up, and then click the Export button. Enter a name for the backup file and save it to a file. Windows automatically adds the IAF extension). Repeat this process for each of your email accounts.
Store the IAF file(s) in a secure place, such as on a floppy disk or CD. If you ever need to restore your mail settings, return to the Email Accounts dialog box and use the Import button to restore your backed-up account settings from the IAF file.
Once you have everything set up and your addresses all entered into Outlook Express, backup your address book and save it to a floppy disk or CD. Search your system by bringing up Search (click on your Start to find Search), and type ‘*.wab’ (without the quotation marks) in the search field. Save this file and your address book is backed up.
Outlook’s email setup is basically the same as for Outlook Express.
Eudora Setup
Eudora’s account setup is a little different. If you already have an email account set up in Outlook Express, Eudora will attempt to find the information for you by checking your ISP. To access the account set up in Eudora, in Eudora go to ‘Tools’, ‘Options’. Select the ‘Auto Configure’ on the sidebar, type in the server name, user name and password. Eudora will then search. If Eudora does not locate the information, you then will need to type it in. Go to the top icon in the sidebar ‘Getting Started’. Type in all of the information in the fields provided and then click ‘OK’. Now send a test message!