Linux email Aargh!

Where the **** do you tell either IceDove or Evolution the log-in
password for the ISP's mail server?

There are options to remember the password, there are options to encrypt
the password with another (In IceDove, anyway) and there is an option to
edit the passwords... disabled because there are no passwords and no
obvious way of setting the damn things.

 

It will just ask you the first time you try to collect mail, then it
stashes it away somewhere.

 

On Fri, 18 Mar 2011 09:19:12 +0000, Jim wrote:

[email client]

Ah, thanks. Given that info, it's not even getting that far, then,
because it never asks me for a password at all; just times out. Something
more fundamental, which is odd seeing as I'm replying to your post from
the same machine.

 

I keep forgetting that Linux logs stuff.
<looks>

/var/log/err doesn't exist
/var/log/system doesn't exist

There are a few /var/log/*mail* files but they have zero length.

Tried 'cat dmesg | temp1.txt', then opened icedove and after half a
minute (I didn't wait for a timeout) did the same to temp2.txt. Meld
found no differences between the two files.

It's mostly an irritation (plus a sense of failure on my part) failing to
get mail under Debian working, but I can reboot into Windows 7 and get
mail via Firefox that way (the computer's dual boot), or use the old
Windows computer, or just use web access, so it isn't absolutely
essential.

 

Coming late the fiesta.. which Linux?

Look in /opt and /var itself. Show us what's in /var. Is there a /var/adm
directory [1]?

What are you trying to do? Your command won't work.

dmesg | grep -i "temp1.txt"

Otherwise, if you want to compare two files, `man (1) diff`. Or if you're
trying to look at a log in real time, `man (1) tail` (in particular, the -f
switch). 'course, that depends on being able to find the logfile...

Debian is close to Ubuntu, innit? Isn't there a postfix configuration
wotsit?

Maybe I should have read the thread from the top...

[1] well, you never know..

 

Debian Lenny

backups cache captmon lib local lock log mail opt run spool tmp

Oops, you'e quite right! I don't know where the 'cat' came from in my
post: checking the command history, I did actually just type 'dmesg >
temp?.txt'

temp1.txt & temp2.txt were for comparing the output of dmsg before and
after opening Icedove, to spot any recent messages quickly. I'm not
looking for temp?.txt in dmesg.

diff's OK but meld gives a nice easily readable side-by-side GUI.

No idea.

 

What's in log/ ?

OK. Lemme read the thread. Too drunk tonight, though..

 

Probably something like you've ticked "Use SSL/TLS" with a server that
doesn't support it.

It's not name resolution if you can post to news from the same machine,
and it's unlikely to be broken software if you're having the same issue
with two different email clients.

Might help if you tell us what ISP it is, because I can look up what
settings are correct.

 

I had something like that when I installed Mozilla Thunderbird at the
weekend. Took me ages to realise that it didn't want secure password
authentication, it had to be unsecure (or insecure if you prefer).
Outlook Express is so much easier.

 

Unfortunately not. I've got Thunderbird running OK in Windows on the same
PC. I suppose I could fire up Wireshark and try to decode the packets, if
any, but life's too short. Maybe there's some essential daemon somewhere
that's missing or not running.

It's irritating but not essential; as I said, I do have other ways of
getting email on the same computer.

 

Hide your config files or start from new as another user. Don't let T-bird
automagically attempt (wrongly) to figure out the mail server names (doh).

I use TB on a number of Windows and Linux machines and have battled this
sort of thing a few times when trying to get secure SMTP and IMAP working,
but for insecure logins it generally just works.