Windows Live (optional email programme)

[Lexicographer]

Hello All

Wife having problems sending emails with embedded pictures within them,
using either Live or Thunderbird. The pictures arrive as just a blank
square.

I've looked on the Microsoft knowledge base and see that we're by no
means alone in this difficulty. Microsoft seemed to be dragging their
heels in finding a solution, with a message from them dated June 2011
saying they were still working on it. There was also a message from them
offering a solution, basically placing all your related data files in a
separate folder, downloading a new version of Live, deleting the old
version of Live, then reinstalling your data files. There were no
comments as to whether this approach actually worked and before
embarking upon this "solution" I'd like to know if anyone has actually
succeeded in obtaining a resolution using this approach.

Thanks for any assistance.

Doc

 

[Paul]

Hello All

Wife having problems sending emails with embedded pictures within them,
using either Live or Thunderbird. The pictures arrive as just a blank
square.

I've looked on the Microsoft knowledge base and see that we're by no
means alone in this difficulty. Microsoft seemed to be dragging their
heels in finding a solution, with a message from them dated June 2011
saying they were still working on it. There was also a message from them
offering a solution, basically placing all your related data files in a
separate folder, downloading a new version of Live, deleting the old
version of Live, then reinstalling your data files. There were no
comments as to whether this approach actually worked and before
embarking upon this "solution" I'd like to know if anyone has actually
succeeded in obtaining a resolution using this approach.

Thanks for any assistance.

Doc

Thunderbird has an option, for how attachments are sent.

http://www.oreillynet.com/mac/blog/2005/12/forcing_thunderbird_to_treat_o.html

The only reason I'm showing you that, is to show there is a
Configuration Editor (very dangerous!) which can change the
behavior of the tool. So in some cases, it's not a bug in
the software as such, it's an unexpected config change that
has changed the behavior of the software.

The reason the Mozilla config editors are dangerous, is because
any changes you make are immediate. I deleted a line in there,
and there was no bringing it back. No "do you want to save
dialog". So if you work in there, you'd want to know how to
do a backup of the settings first. Not like how I did it...

*******

If this was my problem, I would

1) Configure the email client, to use an unencrypted port on the email server.
(Not SSL). In the old days, your connections weren't encrypted, and
everyone along the path, could listen in on your email if they wanted.
2) Install a packet sniffer like Wireshark.
3) Capture packets while the email is being sent.

Even without piecing together all the content of that transmission,
you can make a first order guess as to what is going on. Say you
compose a message with a single text sentence in it, and a couple
250KB pictures (with no resizing or anything). Now, if you sent
that message, and watched the byte count on the network control panel,
if the byte count only increased by around 1KB or so, you'd know
the pictures weren't being sent, in any way shape or form (either inline
or as attachments). And then, that would rule out certain kinds of
configuration issues.

Mail can use things like HTML or plain text, MIME encoding with
multipart messages, and so on. If you capture all the outgoing packets,
you may be able to piece together the entire transmission, and
get some idea what was sent by the client. Then, you'll be better
able to address the problem with Microsoft or Mozilla, in that you can
report what is happening.

*******

The problem I have with your "uninstall and reinstall" idea, is
this doesn't always remove configuration information. It may
replace the software itself, but there is a tendency to keep
user preferences or configuration files, which means any "badness"
kept in there, stays in there. You would have to "uninstall"
and then go round with a vacuum cleaner, and vacuum out any
left over bits. It might even mean visiting the registry,
and looking for stuff in there. So while it sounds like
an idea, I wouldn't bet money on it fixing anything.

Paul

 

[Lexicographer]

Thunderbird has an option, for how attachments are sent.

http://www.oreillynet.com/mac/blog/2005/12/forcing_thunderbird_to_treat_o.html


The only reason I'm showing you that, is to show there is a
Configuration Editor (very dangerous!) which can change the
behavior of the tool. So in some cases, it's not a bug in
the software as such, it's an unexpected config change that
has changed the behavior of the software.

The reason the Mozilla config editors are dangerous, is because
any changes you make are immediate. I deleted a line in there,
and there was no bringing it back. No "do you want to save
dialog". So if you work in there, you'd want to know how to
do a backup of the settings first. Not like how I did it...

*******

If this was my problem, I would

1) Configure the email client, to use an unencrypted port on the email
server.
(Not SSL). In the old days, your connections weren't encrypted, and
everyone along the path, could listen in on your email if they wanted.
2) Install a packet sniffer like Wireshark.
3) Capture packets while the email is being sent.

Even without piecing together all the content of that transmission,
you can make a first order guess as to what is going on. Say you
compose a message with a single text sentence in it, and a couple
250KB pictures (with no resizing or anything). Now, if you sent
that message, and watched the byte count on the network control panel,
if the byte count only increased by around 1KB or so, you'd know
the pictures weren't being sent, in any way shape or form (either inline
or as attachments). And then, that would rule out certain kinds of
configuration issues.

Mail can use things like HTML or plain text, MIME encoding with
multipart messages, and so on. If you capture all the outgoing packets,
you may be able to piece together the entire transmission, and
get some idea what was sent by the client. Then, you'll be better
able to address the problem with Microsoft or Mozilla, in that you can
report what is happening.

*******

The problem I have with your "uninstall and reinstall" idea, is
this doesn't always remove configuration information. It may
replace the software itself, but there is a tendency to keep
user preferences or configuration files, which means any "badness"
kept in there, stays in there. You would have to "uninstall"
and then go round with a vacuum cleaner, and vacuum out any
left over bits. It might even mean visiting the registry,
and looking for stuff in there. So while it sounds like
an idea, I wouldn't bet money on it fixing anything.

Paul

Dear Paul

Thanks for the assistance. This problem does seem to be very involved
with one person even finding that an alteration in one email client also
cured the problem in another client also.

The problem being experienced by my wife was in the "Live" MS package,
with the initial solution, suggested by me, was to use Thunderbird,
since my set-up using XP and Thunderbird sends and receives embedded
pictures with no problem. The setup on my machine is "as was installed",
certainly with no involvement in the configuration editor to produce
results. The category definitions within the Thunderbird configuration
editor, as you obviously know, are both numerous and obscure in meaning,
as one observer comments on the link you sent.

The uninstall/ reinstall idea was not mine but contained on the MS
knowledge base/ Live webpage. Many of the comments on there were
associated with customer impatience at there being no MS solution to
their plight after months of knowing of the problem, until finally an
entry relating to remove/ replace was made, presumably and appearing to
be by an MS related person. My suspicion as to whether it works or not
is connected to long experience in trying, and almost universally
failing to find a solution that both works, and I can apply on any MS
publication, both electronic or hard copy. Therefore I didn't want to
enter the loop, do the work, then find things were unchanged. I was
hoping for someone to have tried it and able to report on it's success,
or otherwise.

Thanks once again for informing me of something that I did not know and
will try and retain in my increasingly sieve-like grey matter.

Kind Regards

Doc

 

[KCB]

Hello All

Wife having problems sending emails with embedded pictures within them,
using either Live or Thunderbird. The pictures arrive as just a blank
square.

I've looked on the Microsoft knowledge base and see that we're by no means
alone in this difficulty. Microsoft seemed to be dragging their heels in
finding a solution, with a message from them dated June 2011 saying they
were still working on it. There was also a message from them offering a
solution, basically placing all your related data files in a separate
folder, downloading a new version of Live, deleting the old version of
Live, then reinstalling your data files. There were no comments as to
whether this approach actually worked and before embarking upon this
"solution" I'd like to know if anyone has actually succeeded in obtaining
a resolution using this approach.

Thanks for any assistance.

Doc

Try this newsgroup:
microsoft.public.windows.live.mail.desktop

 

[Lexicographer]

Try this newsgroup:
microsoft.public.windows.live.mail.desktop

Thanks very much. I'll give it a try.

Doc